


kingdom come is falling down

by lizalilac



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi Goro Has A Palace, Akechi Goro Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Fluff, Gen, Historical Accuracy, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, No Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Persona 5 Spoilers, as compared to the angst, but its implied/referenced, but its very minor tbh, but there are spoilers for goro's confidant, eventually, please give him a hug jesus christ, regarding goros mother, there was so much research done
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29068776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizalilac/pseuds/lizalilac
Summary: The plan to change Niijima Sae's heart was put on hold after Ren got a hit for Akechi Goro's name in the Metaverse navigator. Initially, it was just about stopping the interrogation room plot in its tracks, but that quickly changed when they realized just how much pain Akechi was actually in. Once the Thieves enter the Palace, a Kingdom showcasing each and every injustice cast upon him, Ren resolved himself to save Prince Akechi. Whether that is before the selfish Prince takes the King's throne for himself, or after his Kingdom collapses, Ren knows what he must do.Written for the Goro Big Bang 2020, with art by @tennlevi and @sparkles5401 on Twitter!
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Persona 5 Protagonist & Phantom Thieves of Hearts
Comments: 61
Kudos: 65
Collections: Goro Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!!! I've been looking forward to posting this fic for so so long, it's been such a passion project ever since I started writing it in October, and I've actually had a plan for it in mind since July! Thank you so much to Lizz and SparklyRainbows for making such amazing art, their works will be linked in the chapters in which they show up so please give them tons of love! Also, tons of credit to [Violet](https://twitter.com/violetemergency) for being an amazing beta. Make sure you have tissues ready for later chapters, because it's gonna get sad in here. Enjoy!!
> 
> Find me on [Twitter.](https://twitter.com/nitroglxcerin)

_ "We could say that he stole the guard's gun and committed suicide during his imprisonment... how about that?" _

Ren's eyes burned. He couldn't sleep.

_ "Public security questioning will occur on the first day... and with that room, my task will be simple." _

He was suspicious of him from the start, of course, but he was hoping it wouldn't be like this.

_ "Yes, the guard will be one of ours. We'll have to eliminate him after to destroy the evidence though..." _

Three weeks away. Three weeks until Akechi tries to kill him.

The moment he heard those words from the man he wanted to trust so badly, his mind blanked. He didn't know what to think, so he found it easier not to think at all. He kept himself busy by refilling his friends’ coffee cups and taking care of Sojiro's chores. At least it took his mind off of the feeling of dread in his stomach.

His weighted blanket felt a bit too heavy. Even Morgana's reassuring weight on his chest was starting to feel overwhelming – he wanted to throw it all off and sleep on the cold, hard floor instead. If only sleep wanted to welcome him at all.

He could hear nothing but the sound of his thoughts and the soft ticking of the clock. He had to wonder, did Akechi actually enjoy any of their outings together? Did it mean anything to him, or was he just doing it to get close to his target? He hoped it meant something. Oh, how he hoped.

His fingers twitched as he thought. The ticking of the clock seemed louder than before. 

Not for his own sake, of course, that'd be quite selfish. No, it was for Akechi's sake.

Despite being surrounded by fans at any given time, Akechi seemed so damn  _ lonely _ . Ren never really saw him hanging out with other people besides him, which he didn't even realize until their fourth or fifth outing. This realization made him feel an ache deep in his heart, an urge to invite him out more often. If the time they spent together made Akechi feel even a little happier, then he could handle anything that comes his way. After what Akechi told him about his childhood, Ren really hoped that he made some sort of positive impact on the boy's life.

He wanted nothing more than Akechi’s happiness. Even still, was it selfish of him to want to hear Akechi call him a friend?

The silence was deafeningly loud. His thoughts even more so – he could barely hear the clock over them. His mind raced on nights like these, leaving him scrambling to make sense of his thoughts as they hopped from place to place.

Akechi has to have a good reason for taking up a job as an assassin. He doesn't seem like the type who'd willingly work for someone else and take out their trash like that, so if someone really is controlling his actions, he must have some kind of ulterior motive. Some goal he's aiming for.

Then again, what goal would require killing people off like that? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out. Was it some sort of revenge plot? What end result was Akechi hoping for, if that's the case? Is there anything specific he’s trying to accomplish with this, or is it just for self-satisfaction? No, that’s too simple a reason for someone like Akechi, there had to be something else…

Ren sighed as quietly as he could to avoid waking Morgana, feeling a dull ache forming behind his eyes. Maybe he was thinking about this too much, maybe he should just go to bed. Though, there  _ was _ something that was bothering him. There’s no way he’ll be able to sleep well if he doesn’t get this over with.

He reached for his phone and opened up the Metaverse navigator, his thumb hovering over the microphone button hesitantly. Would he actually…? It’s plausible, but Ren didn’t like that idea one bit. If he did have one, then either Akechi is more rotten than Ren initially thought, or it could be a situation like Futaba’s Palace. Fuck, what if it  _ is _ similar to Futaba’s Palace?

That thought was what spurred him on to whisper Akechi’s name into the nav. Please, dear god  _ please _ say no–

“Candidate found.”


	2. Chapter 2

The morning sun was beginning to seep into the roomy attic. Ren heaved a sigh as the navigator rejected another one of his suggestions. He almost felt bad when he woke Morgana up at one point, but he was honestly too preoccupied to care for long. Almost all of his guesses for the location were wrong, which made him want to tear his hair out the longer he went at it.

“Don’t you think you should get some help from the others? There’s only so much you and I can come up with alone,” Morgana suggested. If he looked close enough, Ren could see him frowning. Can cats frown? Wait, that’s not important here.

What’s important is that he might have to call the others over if he wanted to get anything done. He muffled a tired groan into his hand as he opened his messaging app, creating a new group chat that excluded Akechi. No way was he letting him find out what they're talking about. He could feel Morgana's concerned gaze on him, but he chose to ignore it. If the cat asks if he's tired, he's going to vehemently deny it. You know, what he always does.

**Phantom Thieves Secret Operation**

Today at 8:43 AM

Ren added Ryuji, Ann, and 4 others.

**Ren:** come over to leblanc

**Ren:** immediately

**Makoto:** Ren? What's this about?

**Haru:** Huh, he didn't add Akechi to this group chat.

**Futaba:** fr?? wow ren rly said akechi has no chat rights

**Ren:** there's a reason for it

**Ann:** hnghnnn RENNN you woke me up

**Ann:** better have a good reason for this!!

**Ren:** sorry

**Ren:** i promise you this is important

**Yusuke:** I'll be there within half an hour.

**Ryuji:** Same here, I’ll be there asap

**Ren:** thank you guys so much

**Makoto:** No worries, we'll be there soon.

**Futaba:** ill make like a wrecking ball and crash into leblanc !!

He laughed into his shirt sleeve, letting his arm fall limp beside him as he set his phone down onto the bed. Yeah, this was a good decision after all. Maybe he won't lose  _ all _ of his sanity if he has the others helping him out with the keywords.

Ren couldn't even bother changing out of his pyjamas while waiting for the others to arrive, too lost in thought to even consider it. It really did seem like he exhausted all options... He sighed again, absent-mindedly hoping that someone else had a brighter idea. The jingle of a bell rang downstairs, snapping Ren out of his trance. Seems like Futaba’s already here.

He could hear the sound of her frantic footsteps on the creaky stairs as he forced himself to sit up, shooting her a tired grin when she finally stepped into the attic. Futaba raised her eyebrows, blinking at his disheveled appearance.

“Wow, you look like hell.”

“Good morning to you too,” Ren greeted, running a hand through his hair in hopes that it made him look a bit less like he got hit by a hurricane.

She dragged her feet to the couch, a loud thud resounding as she collapsed onto it. Yikes, he hoped that didn't hurt. "What happened? Something must've freaked you out pretty badly."

His heart was telling him to go out and explain everything right here and right now, but his brain stopped him right in his tracks with the reminder that he'd have to repeat it again for the others. Ren exhaled quietly, picking at his fingernails in an attempt to get rid of the nervous energy running through his veins.

"Well, it... I'll explain when the others get here."

Futaba didn't pry further into it; she simply hummed in acknowledgement and took her phone out to pass the time. Sometimes, Ren was  _ really _ grateful that she knew when to give up. It's been hours since he found out, yet he still needed time to collect his thoughts. He supposed he just... wasn't expecting it to be true. How could he? Akechi had a persona, this shouldn't even be possible according to what Morgana told them.

Ren didn't even know if he was prepared to see what Akechi's heart looked like. What would his treasure even be? What created these distorted desires in the first place? Ren had a feeling that it was directly connected to his childhood, but he wasn't sure where to go from there.

He rode that train of thought for as long as he could until it was interrupted by the loud chattering that often accompanied Ann and Ryuji's presences, followed by Yusuke mere moments later. The room was already feeling much livelier, causing his headache to grow ever stronger, but it eased up a bit when Makoto and Haru made their way in together after a short while. 

Though of course, along with the headache affecting him, there was also the anxiety that gnawed at his stomach at the thought of them refusing to go after Akechi. He really wouldn’t know what to do if they said no… He could go on his own, but honestly, he was sure that going alone into the palace of somebody like  _ Akechi _ would be a death wish. The man is a tricky one and Ren knew it far too well.

Well, no use thinking about that sort of scenario before he even tried.

He grabbed a pillow and held it close to his chest as a crutch for this conversation, then cleared his throat. "Thank you guys for coming here on such short notice."

"We'd come running no matter the time of day if you deemed it an emergency," Yusuke affirmed. That calm tone of his never failed to soothe Ren, honestly.

"Yeah! You can rely on us anytime," Ryuji chimed in with a bright grin. "But, uh... It's probably not great news if you look like you're minutes away from passing out, dude."

Ren tried to smile reassuringly, shaking his head. "I'm alright. It's just that... I found something out last night and it kept me up until this morning. Couldn’t really help it, though..."

He felt Morgana's paw on his knee when he trailed off. "Want me to talk about it instead?" He asked, keeping his tone down so only Ren could hear. The concern in his voice made his lips twitch, scratching behind Morgana's ear in response.

"I've got this," he promised before looking back at the others. "I suppose the phone calls we listened in on affected me more than I thought, so I couldn't sleep too well... But it got me thinking. I can't even remember half of it, but somewhere along the line, I had this huge urge to check Akechi's name in the nav."

Haru's eyes widened. "Did... Did you?"

He nodded, showing them the confirmed hit on his phone screen. "He's got a Palace. I lost sleep trying to figure out the keywords, but Morgana and I couldn't figure them out on our own. That's why I called you guys over in the first place."

"Hold on, we're still going through sis' Palace, is this really a good idea?" Makoto cut in, eyebrows furrowing with worry.

Futaba picked at the skin around her thumb absent-mindedly, humming under her breath. "I'm not sure if we can pull this off either, who knows how long his Palace would be. Time limits suck ass."

"Wouldn't it be a good idea to at least try, though?" Ann suggested. "We could have a shot at the keywords, check through his Palace, then decide if it's worth it."

Ren didn't voice how much he wanted to infiltrate it whether it's worth it or not. If there's a chance of Akechi coming out of it a better person, then he wanted to do it. Cruel as ever, his mind reminded him of the chance that his Palace could be like Futaba's, which only added fuel to the fire growing within him.

"... I agree with Ann, but I want this to be a unanimous vote. I personally thought that if we go through with this, it would have a chance of stopping the murder plot in its tracks and instead, we could convince Akechi to help us out," Ren explained, watching their reactions closely.

"You do raise a fair point," Yusuke mumbled to himself.

Haru’s gaze was rooted to a single spot on the floor as she thought. “It’s definitely possible, but I wish there was a way to be certain Akechi would comply…”

"There's no harm in trying, just like Lady Ann said," Morgana spoke up. "We should probably hold off on a decision until we scope out the Palace. We've got plenty of time until our deadline, so taking a day off for this wouldn't harm us in the long run."

He couldn't believe he was thinking this, but god bless the cat.

"Well... I can't really argue with that," Makoto admitted with a sigh. "Count me in."

Haru seemed to hesitate a bit, opening and closing her mouth for a moment before coming to a conclusion. “… I suppose you’re right. I’m willing to go in too.”

"Same here, man! I'm down to take a look at his Palace with ya! Besides, I kinda wonder what type of distorted desires he'd have in there," Ryuji wondered out loud.

"If you want, I have his search history pulled up," Futaba responded, a mischievous grin on her face. Oh boy, what is she up to now...

"Huh, for real?! Anything weird on there?"

She snickered, shifting her position so she could squat on the couch. "Not really, just a bunch of dog videos. He really likes Golden Retrievers."

Makoto sighed, staring at them pointedly. "Guys, get back on topic."

"Oh, right! Palace infiltration sounds good to me," Futaba said. “If we're doing this, though, we'd better start looking for keywords fast. You tried a bunch, right, Ren?"

"I don't even remember most of the ones I tried," he groaned, burying his face further into the pillow in his arms. "I know I tried Leblanc, Penguin Sniper, and Shibuya... Kichijoji too, now that I think about it."

Ann hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "What about Yongen-jaya, then?"

"Conditions have not been met."

"The TV Station?” Makoto suggested.

“Conditions have not been met.”

Ren racked his brain for more ideas, staring off into the wall as he tried to avoid the ones he attempted already. “Hm… Jazz Jin?”

“Conditions have not been met.”

He suppressed a miserable groan. If it’s this hard to find the location, how hard will it be to find the distortion? This might take a while, huh... 

Oh well, it'll be worth it in the end. 

He tuned everything out for a bit, losing himself in his thoughts as he tried to put various pieces together. Distantly, he heard Ryuji guess the metaverse itself, though it seemed to be too meta for the metanav. ("Hey, it was worth a shot! You never know with that place," he tried to justify.)

"The police station, maybe?" Yusuke chimed in.

"Conditions have not been met."

"Ugh!" Ryuji yelled. "At this point, we could go through all of Japan and not find the damn keyword!"

"Candidate found."

"What?!"

They all froze for a moment, letting it sink in that Ryuji somehow got it right on accident after they all spent so long trying to guess. Haru was the one who broke the silence. "... Does that mean the keyword is 'all of Japan'?"

"Apparently," Morgana confirmed, just as shocked as the rest of them. Ren had no clue that a cat's eyes could get that wide.

"Fucking finally..." he mumbled, rubbing his temples. Watch this be one of those Palaces with crazy high security, wouldn't that be something? He spoke up again, trying to look a little more composed than before. "Alright, we've got two out of three keywords. You guys okay with continuing now or are you feeling brain dead yet?"

"I'll admit it's a bit tiring, but I'm willing to keep going," Makoto responded.

Yusuke nodded, leaning back in his chair to get comfortable. "As am I."

"Ooh, I have one already!" said Ann. "I don't think we've ever seen the real him, so what about a theater?"

"Conditions have not been met."

She visibly deflated, having clearly been proud of her idea. To be fair, she had the right idea; Akechi isn't the type of person who opens up easily, so it wouldn't be far-fetched at all to say that this could have something to do with his Palace.

"Don't worry Ann, you started off well," Ren reassured, causing her to perk up a bit. "Hmm, similar keywords... maybe just a stage?"

"Conditions have not been met."

"A TV studio, perhaps?" Yusuke suggested right after.

"Conditions have not been met."

Haru's eyebrows furrowed as she fiddled with her fingers, clearly deep in thought. "Maybe it's not entertainment related? I'm thinking it could be the exact opposite, perhaps he feels trapped here? A prison, possibly..."

"Conditions have not been met."

"Seriously? I thought that was a good guess," Ryuji said indignantly. "Then, uh– I was thinking of a battlefield, wouldn't be surprised if the dude's that defensive."

"Conditions have not been m–"

"For real?!"

When Ren looked over at Makoto, it seemed like she was incredibly focused on whatever was going on inside of her head, so much so that she barely blinked. Huh, maybe she's onto something? Ren really hoped so – if he was being honest, this entire ordeal left him feeling super drained. Ah, how he loved losing the ability to form coherent thoughts. Maybe Morgana will be proud if he passes out at eight tonight... Wait, this is an important discussion, he probably shouldn't be getting side-tracked.

"... Considering what we know about his alliance with whoever's making him conduct mental shutdowns, it might not be too far-fetched to say that he thinks of this country as a graveyard," she finally spoke.

"Conditions have not been met."

Oh. Apparently Makoto wasn't onto something. Though, he has to admit that the thought of a graveyard never even crossed his mind. That would've made for an interesting Palace.

"This is quite infuriating," Yusuke mumbled to himself, narrowed eyes focused on Ren's phone. Honestly, Ren agreed. Of course, he's going to do whatever it takes to get into this Palace, but damn if it isn't impossible to locate.

The sound of a reporter's voice playing from Futaba's laptop interrupted the ever-growing silence. When Ren glanced over, he probably shouldn't have been surprised to see Akechi on the screen. He recognized this interview, too – it was from a month or so back, a little while after Akechi's popularity began declining. That saccharine smile seemed faker than ever.

"So, Akechi-kun! How do you feel about your recent lack of popularity? Has it been affecting you in any way?" The interviewer asked with obviously feigned interest. His expression was betraying him.

On the other hand, Akechi's facade was immaculate as usual. He showed no sign of being upset about the situation, waving it off with a smile and a rehearsed line. "It came as a shock at first, though I'm trying not to linger on the negative attention too much. After all, balancing school and work ensures that I'm not spending too much time thinking about unnecessary things, haha."

"That's quite impressive, especially under such heavy scrutiny by the public. But that's the Detective Prince for you, level-headed as always!"

"Why are we listening to this?" Ryuji complained, causing Futaba to shush him.

"Info gathering, why else? Maybe he slipped up and revealed something about the way he thinks of Japan during one of his interviews," she explained without looking away from her screen, listening intently in case of a potential keyword.

Ann hummed, talking quietly to avoid distracting Futaba. "But would he really make such a mistake? He's always so careful with the mask he puts up to the public."

"Remember the TV station?" Morgana reminded, getting up from his position on Ren's lap to stretch. "His act isn't as perfect as he thinks it is. It may fool someone with less knowledge of his identity, but we're more perceptive than that."

"That's true..."

Yusuke suddenly cut into the conversation. "This is off topic, but I'm a little surprised that he doesn't have any problems with being given a grand title such as the 'Detective Prince'. Wouldn't someone like him be bothered by this, since he's technically being compared to the previous one?"

Huh, would he? Ren never thought about it before. Maybe it's just the fact that he doesn't want to complain about it, though he never seemed particularly bothered by it either. Or could it be that he actually enjoys the title? He recalls a time where he saw Akechi's eyes light up at the attention from TV hosts and his fans, practically basking in the fact that he was the focus of the interview. He sure looked quite proud of being called the second coming of the Detective Prince back then, though it could've been an act.

On the other hand, there was also the time they met in front of Yon Germain and Akechi fled as soon as his fans noticed his presence. Does that mean he does or doesn't enjoy the fame? It could possibly be a mix of both, but that still doesn't clear anything up. Is Ren even having coherent thoughts anymore? His brain felt like it was slowly turning to mush, in all honesty...

He buried his head into his hands, groaning loudly in frustration. "I'm trying to think but I don't know if this is going anywhere! I was thinking that like... maybe deep down he actually enjoys the attention he's getting from the public and he certainly acts that way on stage, but then I remembered that time he ran away from me so his fans couldn't catch up to him, so I'm not too sure."

"Oh, that kinda sounds like he does enjoy attention, though maybe he doesn't appreciate people trying to get too close without his permission," Ann thought out loud. Doesn't want people getting close, huh...? Wait.

"Holy fuck, that's it Ann!" Ren exclaimed. "If he's trying to create distance between himself and others, then his Palace could be made for defense."

Makoto's eyes suddenly lit up. "Defensive buildings? What about a fortress?"

"Could also be a castle," Futaba suggested right after.

"Conditions have not been met."

"Huh? What other defensive buildings are there other than those?" asked Ryuji with furrowed brows after both suggestions got denied.

"We could still be on the right track, though I assume we'd have to come up with a more specific variant than just a castle," Yusuke voiced.

Morgana's been a bit quiet this whole time, though his attention seems to have been piqued by these suggestions, judging by the slow swishing of his tail. "... I think it's a kingdom."

"Candidate found."

Within seconds, the relatively calm atmosphere in the room vanished and was replaced by loud exclamations of relief. Ren wasn't aware of how much tension he was holding onto during this entire ordeal, but his shoulders suddenly felt much more relaxed than before. Holy shit, that took  _ so painfully long _ .

"Wait, so you're telling me he thinks of Japan as his kingdom?" Futaba questioned, eyebrows raised extremely high. "Is it just me or does that seem super self-centred?"

"It does sound kind of odd..." Haru agreed, tilting her head a bit in confusion.

Ryuji scoffed, leaning back into his seat and kicking his foot against the floor. "I'm not even too surprised that he has selfish desires, he looks like the type of kid who'd be spoiled to hell and back."

Ren winced, unable to find a filter for his words. "Uh... Ryuji, I don't know how to tell you this but his childhood was actually less than desirable. His asshole of a dad left him and his mom to suffer on their own, and then  _ she _ left him to fend for himself in various orphanages after she died. Not a fun situation."

"Fuck, for real…?" His eyes widened immediately, seeming a little dumbstruck by Ren's statement, then looked incredibly guilty for saying it at all. "That's… that's terrible, man. I had no clue, how does he manage to look so carefree on TV when so much shit's happened in his life?" 

"He built a mask to hide his grief, most likely," Ren supplied. Yet another similarity between himself and Akechi, huh? 

"I think that may be why he has selfish desires then, because he couldn't be selfish as a kid," Makoto assumed, a frown pulling at her lips.

The air in the room became a bit melancholy, each of them taking the time to think about Makoto's words. Ren already knew about Goro's past, so he had a suspicion that going through this Palace might be a bit heavy on his heart. He tore his gaze away from his phone and raised his head, looking the others in the eye.

"Let's go take a look at the place."

They nodded in agreement before standing up one by one, finding no reason to protest Ren’s decision. With the tap of a button, their surroundings warped.


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing that filled Ren’s senses was the sound of chatter. The abruptness of the noise had him wrenching his eyes shut to compose himself – it’s nothing he hasn’t experienced before while living in Tokyo, but the switch from his relatively quiet attic to wherever they landed was still quite jarring. When he opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of elegant architecture and equally elegant people, each dressed in at least one intricate piece of clothing. Were they in the middle of some rich neighbourhood?

The people’s eyes were drawn to their group as they spoke in concerned whispers, which finally brought Ren to the realization that they were all collapsed on their asses in the middle of the cobblestone road. He scrambled to his feet quickly, prompting the others to do the same while also trying to take in their surroundings.

“Woah, I wasn’t expecting this place to look like this,” Ryuji whispered to himself, eyes wide and awestruck. Ren was barely processing the scene too; it definitely didn’t look like anything he’s ever seen before. It honestly looked as if they’d been transported multiple centuries into the past, considering how the clothes don’t look like anything anyone would wear these days.

Haru glanced at her teammates one by one, her eyebrows raised with a realization. “Oh, we’re considered threats already?”

It’s true. When Ren looked down at his clothes, he was met with the sight of Joker’s usual dark ensemble, as well as the billowing coat that gave him endless confidence as a thief. He can’t say he was really surprised. He looked back at the people who were still staring at them, realizing that he should probably address them.

“Sorry for the disturbance!” Ren greeted with a charming smile, which finally got the townspeople to look away, albeit a great deal more confused than before. He heaved a sigh of relief, finally taking the opportunity to observe their surroundings properly. There were multitudes of multi-storey housing complexes arranged one beside the other, although Ren could also spot a few shops in the distance with awnings creating shade in front of the entrances.

All of the walls were painted in varying shades of pastels, along with decorative carvings over doorway arches that occasionally had flowers or other motifs molded into them, all of which he found to be incredibly reminiscent of Baroque-era architecture, though the continuous pastel themes had more of a Rococo vibe. In all honesty, everything here was a breath of fresh air from city life in Tokyo. It was as if the images from the historical architecture textbooks he constantly found himself reading had come to life in front of him. 

“Hmm… Judging by the scans that are coming up right now, I can’t really locate where we’re supposed to go next,” Futaba spoke up while observing the scans shown on the inside of her goggles. “We’d need more information about where his shadow could usually be found.”

Makoto hummed quietly, turning her gaze to the people huddling together in groups on the walkway – probably to figure out who to ask. “Information gathering, huh? If we’re to assume that Goro’s shadow is some sort of important figure in this kingdom, then we should ask about a castle or fortress.”

“So we’re taking the Prince thing literally? You know what, maybe he would be in this case,” Ann considered out loud. The Prince of a Kingdom, hm? If he’s the Prince, then who’d be the King?

All of the people around them either seem stuck-up and standoffish, or walk too quickly to be able to stop and have a conversation with. Honestly, he’s not sure if he even wanted to talk to any of these people, though he’d have to do  _ something _ if he wanted to get anywhere. Would it be better to ask people in groups, or whoever’s standing around on their own? No, perhaps if they approach groups, they’ll be able to ask more people without having to move around too much…

“Alright. Queen and Fox are coming with me, we’ll talk to some of the people here,” Ren decided. He tugged at his gloves absent-mindedly as his eyes landed on a group of three finely dressed men. “The rest of you should pretend you’re talking in a group like the rest of the people here, but keep an eye on us and be ready to fight if any confrontations go wrong.”

Morgana was the first to nod in approval, the others following soon after. “Got it, Joker!”

Ren took a moment to admire the men’s outfits from head to toe before approaching them. All three were dressed in satin or cotton blouses beneath intricate waistcoats, with the usual knee-length coat over top. The breeches they wore had lots of detailing around the cuffs, and their stockings were also ornamented at the ankle, though both weren’t nearly as intricate as the mens’ top halves. 

The real eye-catching part was their hats, though. All of the men here donned shoulder-length powdered wigs beneath tricorne hats, giving the look an air of dignity and elegance. Well, people thought so at the time at least; it’d look a bit ridiculous if anyone wore that these days. Ren absolutely loved the style, though he’d definitely get some weird looks if he tried to wear such an ensemble in public.

He steadied himself with an inhale and pulled his shoulders back to stand straight, then walked up to them with the other two following close behind. One of the men noticed them immediately and gestured towards them, gaining the attention of the other two. They were trying to be discreet, though he couldn’t help but notice them staring at the top of his and Yusuke’s heads. Is this because they weren’t wearing a hat and wig like they were? He  _ did _ remember that most men of the time wore a hat at the very least, so he could only imagine how odd they looked to the three men.

One of them also seemed to be staring pointedly at Makoto’s outfit, which made sense considering how the rest of the women here were clad in large, puffy skirts and dainty jewelry. Her skin-tight black clothes couldn’t be any more different from their open-necked silk gowns. Still though, must they regard them so harshly?

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” he greeted with a polite smile pulling at his lips, bowing respectfully to them. “Would you be willing to answer a question I have? I feel as though one of you may have an answer.”

“A question?” The tallest one prompted. His face was sharp and angular, but he didn’t look unapproachable. In fact, the other two look like they’d have the harsher tongue on them instead, considering the way their brows furrowed at the mere sight of them. They still hadn’t stopped silently judging his appearance, which made him feel like self-consciously readjusting his posture. Right, chin up.

“Yes, we’re here to visit shortly. We wanted to ask for directions to the Prince’s quarters,” he continued.

That got the men’s attention. The man with the crooked nose looked particularly intrigued, as he glanced at his friend with raised eyebrows before looking back at Ren. “ _ Prince Akechi _ ? What business might someone like you have with him?”

Makoto chimed in with her own statement to try and explain. “Oh, he called us over for a visit. We haven’t seen him in a while so he invited us over, though we haven’t been here before. Could you please point us in the right direction?”

“Friends… of the Prince?” Spoke the last one hesitantly, seemingly in disbelief. Ren tried to focus on his words instead of how strikingly blue his eyes were; it honestly felt like he was peering into Ren’s soul. “I wasn’t aware his royal highness kept communication with anybody other than his knights and servants. Did he send you a letter?”

Wait, why are they making it sound as if Akechi isolates himself? Oh, but that wouldn’t be too far-fetched either… Ren knew exactly how secretive Akechi can be, how hard he tries to hide himself from others so that they wouldn’t see the person that lies beneath, so much so that at times he wondered if he knew Akechi at all. It wouldn’t be too surprising if that was reflected in his Palace. 

“Yes, he sent us a letter of invitation. We left it back home though, so if you wish to see it, I’m afraid we can’t provide it,” Yusuke said. Phew, Ren was glad that he came up with an answer for the letter part. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

“Is that so? That is  _ quite _ convenient.”

The tallest man shot his friend a look to get him to stop looking down at them with his crooked nose raised in the air. “You mustn’t disregard them so quickly, I’m sure they don’t have ill intentions.”

“I find them suspicious,” he retorted firmly. “Foreigners coming into our town and seeking the Prince out, claiming to be companions of his yet providing no proof? I have a reason to doubt them, especially after what happened to the Prince.”

The blue-eyed man that initially seemed distrustful of them finally spoke up in favour of them, surprisingly enough. “They look like mere children, how harmful could they be? Besides, it’s not like they are going to find his royal highness without his direct permission, not when we haven’t seen him since the King left. He never even showed up to the banquet from a week prior. One that he arranged on his own, no less.”

Crooked Nose heaved a sigh and crossed his arms, regarding them with a look so intense that Ren felt his shoulders stiffen. Jeez, were all the people here going to be beyond unreasonable? 

“Fine, I’ll accept it for the present time. However, if I hear of any funny business, I’ll take this directly to the King upon his return.”

Ren chose not to question his mention of an absent King, nor the previous mention of something that happened to the Prince, though he did pocket the information away for later. “Thank you, sir. I promise we wouldn’t do anything to harm him.”

“We’ll hold you to that,” said the man who defended them. Ren owes him his life. “Now, I’m sure you won’t miss the castle, it’s incredibly lavish and extravagant; befitting of the King and his son. You need only go straight forward until you reach the hill. Although you’ll need to make your presence known, since Prince Akechi hides himself in the inner gate. In all my years of living here, I’ve hardly ever seen him let anyone in, not even that Earl that he befriended.”

“And if you  _ do _ manage to get close, beware of the King’s dragon! I do wonder if the Prince ever feels stifled, being kept on such a tight leash by his father,” the tall man added. 

“If the King feels that it is necessary, I’m sure the Prince does not mind. After all, he is only wary of him going missing again.”

_ Missing _ . Was that what they meant earlier?

“So he isolates himself in a separate part of the castle, and is protected by a dragon? That’s surprising, but… Thank you for all the help,” Makoto responded with a polite bow. Ren and Yusuke followed suit to express their own thankfulness, before walking away. The rest of their team followed close behind them when they saw them leaving.

“Hey! How’d it go?” Ryuji asked, slinging an arm over Ren’s shoulder.

“We got the information we needed,” Makoto confirmed, a small smile pulling at her lips when they all heaved a sigh of relief. “We need to keep going forward until we reach a hill, apparently.”

Yusuke continued after Makoto, filling them in on the remaining details. “There’s also no King present currently, so he may be out of town. Even more interesting is the fact that Akechi’s shadow hides himself in an inner part of the castle and the people here never saw him since the King left. He only ever shows himself to his knights and servants nowadays.”

“I also noticed that… They mentioned a  _ dragon _ , saying that it’s guarding Akechi,” Ren added. “Apparently he went missing once? Uh, the man said that the King put the dragon there to ‘prevent him from going missing  _ again _ ’, so I wonder what happened the first time.”

Futaba blinked slowly as she tried to register the information. “A… dragon? Kinda hoping we get to see it, that sounds pretty cool.”

“Not sure if it’ll be that cool, aren’t dragons pretty dangerous? And if it’s seriously keeping Akechi locked up…” Ann trailed off, her eyebrows raised in alarm.

Makoto hummed. “We’ll have to keep an eye out.”

Ren lo oked over the current info in his head, putting the dragon thing aside for now. So they know where they’re headed and who they’re looking for, but it might be difficult to actually get in… Finding an entrance that won’t alert shadows will be crucial then. Speaking of, are these cognitions not shadows? None of them seem violent. Though that may be a different story when they get closer to their destination.

“Let’s keep our guard up as we proceed,” he cautioned.

“You’re right,” Haru agreed, glancing over at the cognitions again. “Things seem safe for now, but we may need to fight soon…”

He noticed that Futaba was finishing up another scan, probably trying to gauge how dangerous this place actually is. “Well, I can definitely sense readings closer to the hill you guys mentioned. Everything up until that seems fairly safe, though. None of these cognitions seem harmful.”

“Alright, let’s keep going then!” Ann urged. Ren met her gaze and nodded, pivoting on his foot and leading the group onwards. 

The sights he was met with were a feast for the eyes – he couldn’t look too closely earlier as he was too busy scrambling to figure out what to do, but there were vendors scattered throughout the extensive road selling all kinds of goods. Some sold clothes, while others had jewelry for a reduced price, though it certainly didn’t  _ seem _ like it was on sale. That didn’t stop the ladies here from inquiring about certain pieces and  _ purchasing _ them, though it shouldn’t be too much of a shock that they can actually afford them. They have pearls around their necks, for fuck’s sake. Maybe they’re nobility?

Everything was so lively. They were surrounded by gentle noise as they walked, whether it was the clicking of heels on cobble as people walked past them, or the quiet murmurs of conversation drifting to their ears. It was pleasant and made him feel as though he’s actually living in another era. Though, he did have to wonder why this place manifested as such a vividly accurate eighteenth century Kingdom. Was Akechi as much of a history buff as he was? Somehow, he felt excited about that, already beginning to wonder if he’d be able to bring it up in conversation someday.

They turned the corner and followed wherever the path took them, up until they could see an area of lush trees framing a path that led up to the hill they were seeking. It looked like quite a steep climb, likely meant as an extra layer of security. Though, the castle on top of the hill…

“Hey, are we sure that’s the place we’re looking for?” Ryuji asked with an eyebrow cocked up quizzically. “These people described it as something fancy, but that’s…”

Honestly, Ren couldn’t blame him. The building up ahead looked beyond bleak; it had cold walls made of stone with none of the intricate detailing you’d expect from a royal’s abode, and the untamed, dying bushes surrounding the perimeter made it seem as though no one’s been there in ages. Not to mention how it wasn’t even a castle; it looked more like a  _ fortress _ with its shorter walls, which were likely much thicker to make up for height. Ren couldn’t really tell from here. It’s a difference that people wouldn’t catch if they hadn’t done extensive research on fortifications such as these, but it  _ really _ bothered Ren.

Where was the lavish and extravagant castle the man spoke of?

Ren bit the inside of his cheek, having been thrown for quite a loop. There’s no way the people from this century would call that sort of building  _ lavish _ , so he really had to wonder what was going on here.

“Could this have been the work of cognition?” Makoto suggested, seeming quite confused as well.

“That could be it,” Ren agreed. Because really, what other explanation did he have? There’s small chance that all three of those men would happen to be delusional, and considering the wealthy state of the neighbourhood they walked through, it’s only natural to expect the castle – no, the  _ fortress _ – to be even more so.

“It probably is,” Futaba chimed in. “I’d need to do some more investigating to figure out what’s actually going on with the building, but it’s safe to assume that it’s not meant to look this way to us.”

Haru sighed quietly, just as lost as the rest of them were. “Well, let’s keep going then. We’ll most likely find more information if we get closer.”

They all nodded in agreement, then began to walk up the slope of the hill. The pathway up was cobbled just as the one in the town was, but it lacked the stairs that would’ve made their jobs much easier, likely for the sake of any horses or carriages that had to drive up. He was glad that he got so much muscle from missions with the thieves, because this would definitely have exhausted him otherwise. 

As they neared the top, Ren noticed two armored guards standing in front of the fortress entrance and held a hand to the side to get everyone to stop. He also heard Futaba inhale sharply next to him before she spoke.

“Holy hell, those guys are unbelievably strong. I don’t think we’ll be able to fight them at our current strength,” she whispered. Well, that makes things a bit difficult… Judging by their current options, if they were to avoid going through the main gate, then maybe they could go in through a window or climb to the top. Would his grappling hook work anywhere?

“Change of plans, we’re going in from the side.” He slowly stepped sideways, making sure they all remained out of view of the guards. Keeping his footing was difficult while walking to the side on angled ground such as this, and he even heard one of the others gasp as they stumbled once or twice, which made him look back in concern. At least no one actually fell, he wasn’t sure how he’d handle that.

They all heaved sighs of relief when Ren spotted a window that they could fit through at the side of the fortress, covered by glass that they could likely break with one of their weapons. Maybe he could let Haru take a swing at it? Wait, but the noise would draw attention. Unless they planted some sort of distraction somewhere…

He  walked closer to the window to try and gauge how hard it would be to break the glass, when the sight inside of the fortress made his breath hitch.

He could only describe it as a ruin; the sides of the pathways were largely unkempt, with grass growing way too high and ivy beginning to crawl up the discoloured walls, which had large chunks of paint chipped off. There were walls on both sides of his vision so he could hardly see much past the alleyway, but it seemed like one of the buildings opposite him had a door torn off its hinges, and the glass looking into another one was completely shattered. Has this place been ransacked? There’s no way Akechi’s shadow could stand to live in such a place.

“Guys, you have to see this…”

The others walked up behind him to see what he was gesturing towards, prompting even more surprised noises. 

“What the–?” Ryuji’s eyebrows were raised so high they could almost blend into his hairline. Ren was right there with him, he had no clue how to feel.

“I was… seriously not expecting this,” Makoto mumbled to herself. “Does this mean that it’s not cognition making the place look like this?”

Morgana jumped up onto Ren’s shoulder to be able to see into the fortress and yowled loudly. “Oh, wow, okay. That looks like a disaster, but I wouldn’t be so sure that it’s not cognition. Maybe we just have to go inside and see for ourselves. It’s entirely possible that the glass is acting like a barrier between what we’re meant to see and our cognition.”

“Definitely gotta break that glass, then!” Futaba chimed in.

“The sound is gonna alert the guards, though. What can we use as a distraction to get them away from this area?” Ren asked, looking back at the others to see if they’ve got any ideas.

Makoto worried her lip as she thought. “One of us going as a decoy would be too risky, and using an object can be traced back to us if we throw it from here, so I’m honestly not sure…”

Futaba seemed to have been plotting something already, judging by her wicked grin. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ve got that handled. Joker, can you hand me a hypno mist? I feel like those guards have been awake long enough.”

“Oh?” Ren raised his eyebrows, but took out a hypno mist and handed it to her anyways. “You’re… not going to get close, are you? That’s dangerous.”

“No worries! I told you I had a plan,” she insisted as she called on Necronomicon, prompting it to lower a tentacle and grab the hypno mist from her. Oh, so that’s what she’s doing… Clever girl.

They all watched intently as Necronomicon propelled itself into the air and positioned itself over the guards’ heads, dropping the hypno mist above them. The thieves couldn’t see if it worked from where they were standing, though Ren could’ve sworn he heard two bodies hitting the ground soon after. Futaba seemed to have gotten some sort of confirmation from her persona, however, as she raised her arms in celebration when Necronomicon came drifting back. 

“Yay, it worked!”

And so it did. Ren was impressed; he hadn’t considered putting the guards to sleep, but it worked out quite wonderfully. It was also a good move to use her persona instead of putting herself in danger, too.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to make eye contact with Haru, who was holding her axe. Would’ve been quite the terrifying sight if he didn’t know what her intention was. “May I?”

Ren simply moved aside and let her do her thing.

She had no reason to hold back as there was no one to alert with the noises now. Haru brought her axe back in preparation, then swung it directly into the glass of the window, bringing with it a satisfying shatter. Glass shards littered the ground outside the wall, meaning that they’d have to be careful about not stepping on them. 

Slowly, everyone began to pile into the fortress, starting with Morgana as he was the smallest, and ending with Ren, who was trying to ensure everyone got in without scratching themselves on the leftover glass. It was a tight squeeze as fortress windows weren’t meant to let people sneak in, but it somehow worked.

Before he entered, he could hear their confused voices inside the fortress, but not even that could’ve prepared him for the sight he was met with when he made it inside and walked out from between those two buildings.

It was as if one moment he was looking right at those barren ruins from earlier, and then in the blink of an eye, it had all been replaced with something completely different. Suddenly, those paint-chipped walls from earlier were perfectly polished, and the ivy that had been covering large parts of it was now gone. 

The building exteriors were now on par with the ones in the town – actually, they were even more luxurious – with detailed gilded stucco on doorways and windowsills, and intricate panels carved into the wood of the doors themselves to give depth. If he had to guess, the insides of the buildings were possibly even richer than this.

What was even more jarring, however, was the lush greenery surrounding them. The centre of the courtyard held a fountain with steadily running water, creating ambient noise as it cascaded down. Branching off from the main path circling around the fountain were actual pathways, which were separated by neatly trimmed shrubs. The pentagonal shrubbery contained a hollowed out center that was filled with various flowering plants, as well as some trees or even tall, thin shrubs that towered over the courtyard. 

It was a breathtaking sight, but Ren didn’t know what to do with that info.

At least now they definitely knew that the ruins from earlier were cognitive. Or… maybe what they’re seeing now is the cognition? What if they saw what it actually looked like when they were outside, but now their cognition is tricking them?

Maybe he should stop thinking about this before his head starts hurting.

“How the hell did it change so drastically?!” Ann asked, looking beyond lost. In fact, everyone else was also having a bit of a tough time coping with the double whiplash.

Ren noticed that Yusuke seemed equally confused, but was also a bit preoccupied with trying to take in the stunning sight before him. Well, it’s not like he could blame him for getting distracted.

“It must be the work of cognition,” Yusuke murmured. 

“I agree. I just couldn’t help but wonder…” Makoto trailed off, then continued when she found the right words. “The scenery here actually looks like what you’d expect of a place where royalty resides, but the exterior was the part that looked barren and wrecked. If this is meant to be indicative of Akechi’s mental state, shouldn’t it be the reverse?”

Something seemed to click in Haru’s mind. “Oh! You mean in regards to the mask he puts up to others as compared to what he’s actually like, right?”

“You’re not wrong. You’d usually expect the inside to be a mess and the outer part to look put together, but this is the reverse,” Ryuji said. Ren hadn’t considered this either, if he was being honest, but now he couldn’t figure out what this meant. The men back at the town seemed so positive that the entire fortress had the same regal look as the interior, but what the thieves saw didn’t quite add up with that. 

So then, who was being fooled? Them, or the townspeople?

“What if we saw what we did outside because of the calls we overheard?” Morgana suggested. “Think about it; we know the dark secret that he’s hiding from the public, so in a sense, we know what his heart really looks like. The people at the town don’t know any of this, so that’s why they saw something completely different!”

Oh. He raised a good point. No one who wasn’t affiliated with the Metaverse in some way would know about Akechi possibly being the black mask, after all. The thieves probably wouldn’t have found out either, had it not been for Akechi’s slip-up back at the TV Station. Truly, the boy knew exactly how to hide his true self from the rest of the world, as if he’d built multiple walls around himself and his heart. Well… In this case, it was also pretty literal.

The thought of Akechi having to guard himself so severely as a result of the pain the world gave him made his chest ache. The urge to get through this Palace as fast as possible grew even stronger.

“We can theorize more later. There’s nothing preventing us from going forward, so let’s keep moving.”

The others agreed fairly easily after they finally remembered that they were on a mission. Ren surveyed the surrounding area again, trying to determine what would be a good place to head to next. Their entrance had been on the right side of the castle, so they had two buildings to check out on their left, though there were two more large buildings on the other side of the courtyard. The large castle wall to their right didn’t contain any gates or doors to another building, so it seemed like this was all they could explore. 

He spoke up again to get their attention. “Let’s look through each of the rooms carefully, starting from this side. Do you guys think we should start with the building that’s closer to us, or the one near the front gate?”

“Latter!” Futaba decided. “It looks like a way larger building than the one here, so I’m curious about what’s in it. Plus, I’m getting the feeling that we’ll find something good there!”

The speed and enthusiasm of her response made him laugh. “Sounds good to me. Everyone, be prepared to fight if we encounter any shadows! The coast is clear for now but it’s almost been… too clear.”

He couldn’t help being suspicious, even though it’s been going well so far. No,  _ because _ it’s been going so well. You’d expect someone like Akechi to have tricks up his sleeve, so it was natural to be keeping his guard up.

Ren led them off of the grass and onto the pathways, listening to his heels clicking on the stone as he walked right past the fountain. The gentle trickle of water was the only audible thing in here so far; it was definitely odd. Did no one guard the inside of the fortress? He wasn’t complaining at all, but it made him feel incredibly uneasy.

They came to a stop in front of the tall building’s wooden door. The exterior was quite simple with very little decoration aside from the molding around the doorway’s arch, so he was not too sure what to expect on the other side. Ren looked back at his teammates for a brief moment to see if they’re ready to enter, then reached for the door handle.

To say that the sight in front of them was gorgeous would be an understatement – the room was painted almost entirely in white with intricate, golden stucco creating borders across the walls and over archways, which were held up by tall, elegant pillars. It seemed to be a Chapel, with both sides of the room containing many pews that faced the altar, as well as a long space along the centre – a nave, if he recalled the name correctly – that would let them walk through. 

However, what really took his breath away were the stained glass windows on the right side of the room. Two of the windows on either ends of the chapel were tall and multicoloured with no design, but the largest one in the center held the shape and likeness of a beautiful woman who seemed a bit familiar. Ren could see it in her sharp and analytical eyes, as well as her posture; he could sense her regal authority through the glass, awfully reminiscent of the Palace ruler himself.

He didn’t have to think too hard to know that she was Akechi’s mother. 

Ren didn’t know how exactly these windows were letting light into the room, since he couldn’t see any stained glass windows like these when they were infiltrating the Palace, but they still lit up the room with a warm glow that made him feel at peace. He supposed that maybe this was just how chapels and other sacred spaces were supposed to make a person feel, considering their religious purpose.

There weren’t any shadows to be seen in the room, so he allowed himself to let his guard down the tiniest bit and began walking down the nave towards the altar. The others’ footsteps followed close behind him, and he could hear them murmuring among themselves as they walked.

“Holy shit, I can’t even begin to imagine how much time that detailing would take to create,” Ryuji whispered in awe. Ann sighed to herself and probably jabbed Ryuji in the side, judging by his loud yelp.

“You’re forgetting that no one actually built this place, it’s a Palace.”

“I know, I know! Ain’t it super impressive that people actually built stuff like this, though?” He insisted.

Ren’s attention was taken away from their bickering when he noticed that Haru had stopped in the middle of the nave, staring off at the stained glass portraying Akechi’s mother. Her expression didn’t betray anything about what she could’ve been feeling, but she seemed to be deep in thought.

“You alright, Noir?”

She blinked up at him, then nodded. “I am, it’s just– I haven’t heard much of Akechi-kun’s family situation past the fact that his mother is dead and that his father is absent. Her likeness in the glass may be just that, a likeness, but the fact that she’s in here at all means that he must think about her a lot, huh? Especially since Chapels are a place of worship...”

Ren bit his lip and said nothing. She was right – it immediately brought back memories of Akechi spilling his heart out to him at the bathhouse and reminiscing on the times when his mother was there, imperfect as they were. Akechi missed her more than anything, he knew that better than anyone. His heart twisted and ached at the thought of him never having experienced a healthy familial bond. The memory of his mother really  _ was _ all that he had…

“He does. Uh, miss her, I mean.”

Haru’s brows furrowed the tiniest bit, but he still couldn’t pinpoint what she was thinking about. She seemed to shake herself free of her thoughts, literally and metaphorically, then looked up at Ren once more with a strained smile.

“Well, it’d be best not to linger on that thought. The others seem to be up ahead, so let’s join them,” she urged.

He complied with a small smile of his own, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before continuing down the path to the altar. Everyone seemed to be gathered around something, and the excited buzzing of their conversation intrigued him. 

“What did you find?”

“Oh, there you two are!” Makoto acknowledged, looking quite happy about something. “We found a map of the Palace; this should make it much easier to figure out where to go next.”

A map, huh? He stepped behind Makoto and peered over her shoulder, feeling his shoulders untense the tiniest bit with relief. “I’m glad we found this so quickly. Let’s see, what’s the rest of this place looking like…”

His eyes flitted over the parchment as he observed each room carefully. It seemed like the smaller one beside the Chapel was a kitchen, while the row of buildings on the west end contained a dining room, a wine cellar and… a billiards room? Interesting. He noticed that some people don’t notice the recreational rooms in castles, so seeing a billiards room included here made him feel pleased. 

… Hold on.

Something didn’t add up.

“Um. Wasn’t this area here just a blank wall?” He asked, pointing out the space showing a gate on the south wall of the fortress. “How come we didn’t see this when we were in the courtyard?”

Everyone else didn’t seem to notice until he said something. This revelation immediately prompted a bunch of confused noises. 

“That definitely wasn’t there before!” Morgana exclaimed, eyes widening with shock. “Oracle, can you perform some scans and see what comes up for you?”

Futaba already seemed to be comparing it to the information she had in her database before Morgana could even finish that sentence. “It’s… not coming up for me either. I can definitely sense a presence past that point, as well as a vague feeling that the treasure’s somewhere in there, but I can’t actually see any of the rooms that the map is showing.”

“That’s incredibly odd,” Yusuke mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“A presence?” Haru inquired, tilting her head. “Would that happen to be…?”

“Yeah, I think it’s Akechi’s shadow,” Futaba agreed.

Ryuji stretched his arms above his head with a small groan, then looked over at Ren. “Well, should we get going and see if that gate thing showed up then? I doubt there’s anythin’ else to see here.”

He nodded back at Ryuji in response, grabbing the map to take it with him. The rest of the team followed close behind Ren and Ryuji as they walked back towards the front door, but just when Ryuji reached for the door handle, Futaba gasped loudly.

“Skull, wait! Get away from the do–”

Before she could even finish what she was saying, the door burst open. Ryuji was thrown across the room from the impact and collapsed against the wall, clutching his head.

“Skull!” Ren yelled in alarm and started to step towards him, feeling the urge to check if he was wounded or not, but Makoto beat him to the punch. She gestured for him to let her handle it, so he breathed a small sigh of relief and left her to it. When he turned back to see what was going on, he made eye contact with a tall and imposing guard clad in silver armour.

“Intruders! With whose permission are you here?” They demanded.

“We’re here to see Akechi. Let us through,” Ren ordered, placing himself in front of the others to protect them. He glanced back at Futaba to silently ask how strong the guard was, to which she nodded reassuringly. Alright, time to kick this guy’s ass.

They didn’t seem to take kindly to his retort, raising a metallic foot to kick him to the floor. Pain flared through his stomach, but he still glared up at them indignantly. Well, maybe he’s getting  _ his  _ ass kicked instead, that works too.

“That’s  _ Lord  _ Akechi to you! Refer to him with his proper title!”

He stumbled back onto his feet, suppressing the urge to wince at the throbbing pain that shot through him as he moved. “Alright, we’re here to see  _ Lord _ Akechi. Now, let us through, or else we’ll do it by force.”

“Ha!” They laughed sharply, raising their sword in front of themselves. “Daring of you to assume that I’d leave him vulnerable to the likes of you  _ petty thieves _ . Leave this place in peace, or so fight!” 

Ren narrowed his eyes, drawing his sword as well. “Panther, Noir and Fox, you’re with me.”

The guard’s form twisted and warped until Power appeared in its stead, prompting Ren to charge up for a physical. He’s fought these before, so he knew very well what their weaknesses were. 

“Noir, use Triple Down!” He ordered, switching to Ananta to buff the entire team’s defense. “Panther and Fox, focus on elementals.”

The latter two immediately used their respective elemental attacks, dealing damage to the shadow before three huge bullets whizzed past them and penetrated Power’s torso. He fell to the floor with a thud, too pained and dizzy to collect himself, prompting Ren to switch to Cerberus and deal a Megaton Raid before starting an all out attack.

Power still made an attempt at attacking them by aiming Brainshake at Yusuke, but Ren pulled him aside just in time for it to miss.

Thankfully, they managed to make quick work of the fight as Ann ended it with an Agidyne for good measure. He heard Morgana and Makoto share matching sighs of relief from their position beside Ryuji. Speaking of…

Ren quickly shuffled over and knelt in front of Ryuji. “Skull, are you alright?”

“He’s alright, we healed him,” Morgana reassured, though he still seemed to be concerned about something. “What about you? That was a pretty nasty hit to the ribs…”

Ren completely forgot about it during the fight, though now that he reminded him, he couldn’t help wincing at the pain that still lingered. Morgana sighed, reaching up and resting a paw over his abdomen, letting the green glow of the Diarahan ease his ache.

“Thanks, Mona.” He gave him a tiny, grateful smile, then looked over at Ryuji when he heard his pained groan.

“Damn, that hurt…” Ryuji pushed himself up the tiniest bit, seeming far less worse for wear than before. He then met Ren’s gaze with a playful grin and punched him in the shoulder. “We both got matching ass whoopings!”

He couldn’t resist the laugh that escaped him at how ridiculously carefree Ryuji’s reaction was. The joke was appreciated though, the air in the room had been far too tense for his liking. “I’m not sure that’s something to be happy about, Skull.”

The rest of them laughed along with them, making the atmosphere seem a bit lighter than before. He stood up and offered a hand to Ryuji, pulling him back onto his feet.

“You guys ready to go check that gate out now? Let’s stay cautious though, there could still be enemies lingering.”

Everybody agreed immediately. Ren glanced out of the open Chapel doors into the courtyard first, spotting no lingering shadows and therefore deeming it to be safe. He gestured for the others to follow him as he stepped out back onto the pathway.

To their surprise, the wall that had previously been blank now held a gate, just like the map had indicated. It looked like a portcullis, with its heavy metal-plated grills fixed firmly into the ground and barring them from proceeding further.

“Woah, it really appeared!” Morgana exclaimed, drawing everyone else’s attention to the gate. 

Makoto hummed thoughtfully. “So my assumption was correct… We couldn’t see it before the map changed our cognition.”

“Um…” Haru started, conflict evident in her expression. “I know we said we’d scope out the Palace and decide later on if it’s worth stealing his treasure, but I’m personally unsure about going any further. If the majority vote is to proceed, then I won’t complain, though I still find the time limit and the uncertainty of whether Akechi will even listen to us post-change of heart to be quite off-putting.”

Not to mention her own personal aversion to Akechi due to her father’s situation. Ren definitely understood where she was coming from and couldn’t blame her, but the fact that she’s so against it made his heart drop into his stomach. He felt anxious thoughts creep up on him, ones about the others agreeing with her and forcing him to call the mission off, but he quickly squashed them down.  _ Stop doubting yourself, Ren. _

However, he could’ve sworn Futaba glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before patting Haru’s shoulder gently. “I can’t say I don’t feel the same, but I feel like we should at least check out that gate and  _ maybe _ some of the buildings before deciding anything major. We already set today aside for this, after all.”

Haru pursed her lips, then nodded. “Alright, I suppose you’re right. Sorry for bringing that up so suddenly.”

Did… Did Futaba just stand up for him? It’s almost as if she read his thoughts and  _ knew _ how badly he wanted to complete this Palace. She had no reason to do that for him considering how she didn’t like or trust Akechi at all, and yet she was still willing to back Ren up. 

He turned around to hide his tiny smile, gesturing for the rest of the team to follow. “Come on now, let’s take a closer look at the gate. There’s something I’m curious about.”

They seemed to calm down after that, following close behind him as he walked towards the gate quickly. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like there wouldn’t be any way to sneak in through here. The gate was firmly shut and from what he could remember, the only way to raise and release a portcullis is from the first floor of the gatehouse…

He looked up to see if he could spot any guards manning the gatehouse. Surprisingly, there was no one up there at the moment. Did their presence not alert too many guards? He could’ve sworn that they would be intercepted again, since the guard back at the chapel gave them so much trouble.

Then, they heard a voice echoing in their ears.

“ _ Seems like the intruders were more clever than I took them for… _ ”

“Huh?” Ann’s eyes widened as she frantically looked around. Most of them had similar reactions as they tried to figure out where the voice came from. Futaba seemed especially confused, her tense shoulders raised up high.

“What the…? That sounded like someone was communicating with us mentally, like I can do with my per–”

A sigh. “ _ Must you lot be so rowdy all the time? _ ”

Hold on, that sounded exactly like–

“Akechi?!” Morgana yelped, shock causing him to jump up into the air.

“ _ His shadow. _ ” The difference in this Akechi’s tone and the actual Akechi was baffling. He usually sounded pretty upbeat all the time, even if it was clearly just an act, but this one just sounded monotone and… tired. As if he gave up on all pretenses. “ _ I thought I told those stupid guards to put the map out of sight, _ ” he mumbled bitterly.

No one spoke for a moment, but they did exchange surprised glances while Akechi’s shadow spoke. Makoto was the one to break the silence. “Um… Where exactly are you? How can we hear you?”

“ _ Not something you should be concerned with. I suppose all you need to know is that I’m inside the Keep, _ ” he said. Not super helpful, but at least it meant that he’s somewhere beyond this gate.

His voice snapped Ren out of his thoughts again. “ _ It’s not like you can make it past here anyways, not without permission from the me in the real world. _ ”

“Permission from the real you, hm?” Ren thought out loud, staring at the grills of the gate as he tried to make sense of that. Was this like it was back in Madarame’s Palace, with the locked door? 

“ _ You’d need to enter a place in reality that’s strictly off limits to any person, known or unknown. That’s all I’ll say on the matter. _ ” 

Huh.

He’s… helping? Akechi’s shadow is  _ giving hints _ , cryptic as they may be? This was extremely surprising. Usually, the Palace rulers would be adamant about protecting themselves and actively trying to get in the thieves’ way. Akechi’s shadow was definitely trying to fuck them over using cognition, he made that  _ very _ clear, but apparently he just threw them a bone too. It sounded a bit too familiar, sort of like one of his thoughts last night...

_ Fuck, what if it  _ is _ similar to Futaba’s Palace? _

The echo of his own thoughts made his stomach churn.

“A place that’s off limits…?” Ryuji parroted, raising an eyebrow. “Uh… you guys got any ideas?”

“ _ Theorize all you want, but remain assured that he won’t let you inside. Make an attempt at convincing if you wish; though you’ll almost certainly be disappointed. _ ”

Suddenly, the air felt different. Shadow Akechi’s voice vanished, and his phantom presence followed suit. 

“Ugh, he cut off his signal!” Futaba said indignantly.

“How curious…” Yusuke spoke, staring off at the gate. “He’s being indirect about it, but he gave us a hint.”

Morgana crossed his arms, then looked up at Ren. “You wouldn’t really expect something like that from Akechi, let alone his  _ shadow _ . It sort of reminds me of…”

He trailed off at the end, but Ren knew that they were thinking the same thing. He simply nodded in response. Deep down, Futaba really wanted to be free of the fears and worries weighing her down, leading to her Shadow helping them as much as she got in their way. It didn’t have to mean that this will be a recurring trend with Akechi’s Shadow, but there’s no way he could deny the similarities so far. 

Ren heaved a sigh, rubbing his temple tiredly. This was going to be a long, long Palace…

“So then, what’s your guys’ call? Do you want to continue this Palace, or should we just focus on sis?” Makoto asked them all, eyes flitting from person to person to see their reactions.

“I still think that it’s worth a shot,” Ann responded. “If it doesn’t work, we still have our plan to fall back on, but if there’s any chance that Akechi could cooperate with us, then in my opinion we should go for it!”

Morgana nodded. “It’s true that he’d be a valuable ally, and considering how he  _ does _ have some sort of distortion, we could help Akechi too.”

“I wasn’t too big on the idea at first, but honestly, you guys raise some good points…” Ryuji said, then a frown etched itself onto his face. “I just realized we don’t even know much about his distortion aside from the fact that it seemed kinda self centred, but I don’t really get that vibe from this Palace? Madarame and Kaneshiro felt way different.”

“I must agree. The fact that cognition altered the Palace’s appearance led me to think that there may be something more to it, not to mention the stained glass caricature of that woman at the Chapel. If that was his mother…” Yusuke trailed off. “I somehow find it hard to believe that this Palace is based off of malevolent desires.”

Haru bit her lip, worrying it with her teeth as she thought. “I noticed the stained glass, too. I… I was thinking about how he must really miss her, though I now feel as though it has more relevance here than I thought. I’m admittedly a little curious as to what’s going on inside his head.”

“Me too. I wasn’t too excited at first either, but I’m starting to realize that there’s something we need to find out in here. I don’t know  _ what _ or  _ where _ it’s gonna be, but I think we’ll understand him more if we keep going. You guys in?” Futaba asked. Slowly, everyone nodded in response, coming to a unanimous agreement to proceed with both Palaces no matter the time constraint.

“Alright, it’s decided then,” Ren said as a confirmation. “We’re going to continue. Uhm, which reminds me, what about that place his shadow talked about? The one where we have to get into?”

“Oh!” Ann suddenly perked up, turning to face Ren. “About that – shouldn’t that be his apartment? He doesn’t seem like the type to let people in there, no matter how close they are.”

_ If they’re close to him at all, _ his mind whispered to him. 

She wasn’t wrong, though. Ren would say that they’ve gotten pretty close over time, but Akechi never invited him over. He only ever came to Leblanc or invited him out to places in the city, which wasn’t too odd in and of itself, though he couldn’t help his suspicions because of this particular situation.

“Honestly, I can’t think of anything that fits the description better than that,” Ren said. “If all of Japan is his Kingdom, and the castle is presumably his apartment, neighbourhood, or something adjacent to it, then that makes the most sense.”

“Well… In that case, wouldn’t it be most logical to have Joker convince Akechi?” Haru suggested.

Ryuji tilted his head, as if considering it. “Y’know, Joker  _ is _ the closest to him out of all of us. He actually has a chance, while Akechi would shut down the rest of us right then and there.”

“I think so too,” Morgana agreed. “Do you think you can try to convince him, Joker?”

Ren hummed to himself, crossing his arms. He’d need to figure out a way to bribe Akechi, but honestly, it didn’t seem impossible. In fact… he already had a vague idea of how he could pull it off.

“Leave it to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO okay I have to say that lots of research went into the fashion and architectural research for this fic. you'll see a lot of it throughout later chapters, but I wanted to add my sources here!! I can't remember for the life of me where I did research for the architecture, but most of my fashion research was done on fashionhistory.fitnyc.eu from timelines (if you want a good laugh, look up court mantuas, they’re so comically wide). A map will be added to this chapter, though my tablet seems to be having some issues so it probably won't be added here for a little while, but I'll make sure to add that in asap too!!


	4. Chapter 4

The day after their infiltration was spent on planning their next move, and the day after that was when Ren was supposed to visit Akechi. They already decided that Ren was gonna be the one to carry it out, but even after they tossed ideas back and forth, they were still a bit rough with the details of the plan. They’d eventually decided to just leave the approach up to Ren to figure out since he was most likely to know how to go about talking to Akechi. And if he was being honest, he had an idea.

Ren was going to be surprised if it worked, though.

**Akechi Goro**

Today at 3:49 PM

**Ren:** goroooo !!!

**Ren:** ive got a question for you

As soon as he sent that, he released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. This was kind of a gamble… but he couldn’t think of anything better. He knew it would take some convincing, while also trying to seem inconspicuous, though it’s not like the plan didn’t have  _ any _ chance of working. Ren could likely pull this off.

He fumbled with his phone, nearly dropping it when it pinged with a new message.

**Goro:** Yes? What is it?

**Ren:** im kinda bored today so

**Ren:** i was wondering if you wanted to hang out?

**Ren:** already have a plan in mind though if you’re down

There was no response for a brief minute. Ren dug the front of his shoe into the wooden flooring as he waited, kicking at it absentmindedly to get the restless energy out. 

**Goro:** Sorry, I had to check my schedule.

**Goro:** I don’t have anything planned for the rest of the day. What did you have in mind?

**Ren:** ooh, great!

**Ren:** i was thinking… i remember you mentioning that you don’t know how to cook stuff that isn’t instant or microwavable

**Ren:** so i was wondering if you’d want me to teach you how to cook leblanc’s curry? its actually not that hard to make if you follow the steps

**Ren:** shhhh dont tell sojiro

**Goro:** Oh? 

**Goro:** I’ve never actually tried Leblanc’s curry, but that would definitely be useful to know how to make.

**Ren:** NICE would you be okay with me coming over to your apartment?

**Goro:** … Mine? Wouldn’t it be better for me to come over to Leblanc instead?

Hmm, he’s definitely evading it... Ren was kind of expecting this, though.

**Ren:** that could work, but i wanted to see what equipment you’ve got over at your place

**Ren:** to help you recreate it more easily on your own in the future

**Goro:** It’s true that I might not have some of the tools that Leblanc would have… 

**Goro:** But in that case, I think it would be more efficient to use the ones at Leblanc. If I’m lacking something, we probably wouldn’t be able to finish the recipe, right?

Bargaining. He’s got a point, but Ren couldn’t really afford to give into his suggestions. He  _ needed _ to get into his apartment for those damned gates to open. If the situation allowed it, he’d have probably just lock-picked his way into Akechi’s apartment and made sure he saw Ren, but unfortunately he had to avoid any sort of suspicion. He couldn’t afford the risk.

**Ren:** i can just bring over anything you don’t have!! actually, it would be faster to just list the tools needed

**Ren:** [Ren sent a photo]

**Ren:** here’s the picture of my written recipe, actually, i’ll give this to you in person so you can use it next time you wanna cook curry. tools needed are also listed

**Goro:** Hm… I suppose I do have everything in my kitchen.

**Goro:** Alright, I’ll send you the location. 

**Goro:** [Goro sent a location]

Ren leapt up onto his feet in surprise, feeling a satisfied grin spread across his lips. He did it! Akechi was definitely trying to find reasons to refuse but… he somehow convinced him to let him come over. Eat shit, Shadow Akechi! 

Now all that’s left is to make sure he doesn’t suspect anything, and then they can infiltrate the Palace again.

**Ren:** alright, does meeting up in an hour sound okay?

**Goro:** That’s fine by me. I’ll see you there, Ren.

**Ren:** see you!

Alright, everything’s going well so far. Ren was extremely glad for it; he wouldn’t have known what to do if Akechi outright refused or caught onto what he was trying to do. 

He carefully descended down the stairs, spotting Sojiro filling out a crossword at the counter with nobody else in the cafe. Damn, business is as rough as always, isn’t it… He slipped into the kitchen quietly and snuck some pre-cut ingredients into small containers, tucking them into his bag.

Somehow, he’d managed to evade Sojiro’s gaze. He slung his bag full of ingredients over his shoulder and walked out of the kitchen, making his way over to the door.

“Heading out?” Sojiro asked, glancing up at him briefly.

“Going over to a friend’s house.”

He only gave Ren a noncommittal grunt, then redirected all of his attention to his previous task. “Don’t get into any trouble, kid.”

“I won’t,” he reassured, swinging the door open and walking out of the cafe quickly. He spared a glance down at his phone on his way to the station, deciding to check out where he’s going to. 

Apparently he was on his way to… Nagatacho? Wasn’t that the location of the Diet Building? His residence seemed to be somewhere on the outskirts though, close to Akasaka Mitsuke. Likely a practical location for any TV appearances.

He’d take the train to Akasaka Mitsuke then, and walk from there. He pocketed his phone, sighing to himself as he entered the train station and maneuvered around the crowds of people to make it to his platform. Luckily, he’d made it there just in time to see the train pulling up.

Today was as crowded as ever, though it’s not like he could expect anything less from Tokyo. It felt stifling, having to be pushed to the very side of the vehicle by the countless people packed inside. This was probably the closest he got to being a canned sardine, which was admittedly a very weird thought to have. He held his bag close to his chest to protect the stuff inside of it.

His legs were beginning to ache by the time the train passed Aoyama Itchome, being forced to stand in an uncomfortable position the entire time. However, the sound of the announcer declaring their arrival to Akasaka Mitsuke had him speeding out the doors as soon as they opened. The location Akechi gave him meant that he had to go through a couple of blocks and pass numerous buildings before he found the one with the right number, stopping right in front of an incredibly tall skyscraper with huge glass windows taking up more space than the walls. Did all of these apartments seriously have floor-to-ceiling windows?

And more importantly, how did Akechi  _ afford _ a place like this?

Ren shook his head and pushed the door to the building open, admiring the gorgeous greenery surrounding the pathway as he entered. The interior of the building was incredibly clean and well-kept too, though nobody seemed to be at the reception desk. Was there supposed to be someone there?

**Akechi Goro**

Today at 4:37 PM

**Ren:** i’m here

**Ren:** what’s your flat number??

**Goro:** Oh, you made it.

**Goro:** Flat 51, fifth floor

**Ren:** got it, coming up in a second!

The elevator ride up was uneventful and quick. He took the time to stare at himself in the mirror, wondering just how visible the bags under his eyes were to other people. Hopefully no one looked too closely.

And before he knew it, he was standing in front of Akechi’s front door and knocking on it, waiting patiently for the man to open it. Ren heard footsteps behind the door that came closer and then stopped, just before the door swung open. 

“Ah, welcome,” Akechi greeted. The polite smile on his lips was the same as ever. He opened the door fully and stood to the side, letting Ren come in. 

If only Akechi knew just how relieving the sight of the open door was.

Ren bowed and murmured a quick ‘pardon the intrusion’, slipping into the apartment and taking his shoes off. Akechi only chuckled as he did so.

“It’s no intrusion, I’m glad you’re here.”

“If you’re certain,” Ren responded. Who knows how truthful that statement was, considering how he was so reluctant to let him come over. 

A quick glance at the apartment interior revealed that it was relatively spacious compared to his attic, though the ceilings weren’t as high as he would’ve assumed from the outside. The tall windows bathed the room in warm sunlight, giving him a stunning view of the sunset tinting the cloudy skies orange.

The apartment itself was pretty minimal; it contained almost no personal items aside from a novel on the coffee table and a folder on the couch, presumably full of important documents or case files. It looked like a nice place to live in, but if Ren hadn’t known where he was, he wouldn’t be able to tell that Akechi lived here.

“Your place is really nice,” he commented, turning to face Akechi as he closed the door behind Ren. Only now did he notice the sweater he wore, comfortable and slouchy and infinitely more casual than anything else he’s seen him wear. 

Akechi smiled in response, leading Ren to the couch and gesturing for him to sit. “Thank you, please make yourself at home. Do you want to start cooking immediately or should I get you something to drink?”

Ren set his bag down on the couch, but chose not to take a seat. “It’s alright, I don’t need a drink. And honestly, up to you and what you feel like doing! I’m ready whenever.”

“In that case…” Akechi trailed off briefly. “I’ve actually been a bit curious about Leblanc’s curry, so I’d love to start on it soon.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear,” Ren said, feeling himself grin. He grabbed his bag again and followed Akechi into the kitchen, starting to take the ingredient containers out of it and onto the counter. “Can you get the pan and whisk out first, and a large bowl? Set a pot aside for later, too.”

Akechi did what he said, helping him speed up the preparation process. Ren grabbed the container that held the entirety of the spice mix, consisting of curry powder, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, and so on. Placing the pan onto the stove, he began melting some butter.

“I already have some ingredients chopped up to save time, including the meat and veggies. I hope you don’t mind?” Ren asked as he set the rest of the containers aside, gesturing to Akechi to pour the spices in once the butter melted.

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine,” he responded as he stirred the spices with the butter. “According to the recipe, it’s… flour next?”

Ren nodded, adding in the flour as Akechi continued stirring. “Keep stirring until it’s thick.”

They worked in silence for a bit, with Ren glancing over every now and then to see how the roux was coming along. A few minutes later and it was the exact consistency that they wanted, so Ren held a hand up to stop him.

“Alright, that’s our roux,” he mumbled as he set it aside. “Now we can skip the mise en place and go straight to cooking; we need our chicken for this, which was already cubed and seasoned in advance…” 

As he talked to himself, Akechi placed the pot onto the stove and added enough oil to coat the bottom, causing Ren’s lips to quirk up. Seems like he recalled the step on his own. Ren dropped the chicken in, taking over with the searing. “Can you bring me the chopped onions and garlic?”

Ren set the chicken aside on a plate after searing it for about five minutes to attain some colour, then took the onions and garlic from Akechi and began sauteeing them. After a while, he added seasoning before dropping in some shredded carrots, apples and ginger from another container, then the chicken after a few stirs. 

“It’s… the chicken stock after this, right?” Akechi asked, taking it out of Ren’s bag. He nodded, gesturing for him to hand it over before pouring in about four cups worth. 

“You did a good job with remembering the recipe,” Ren told him.

Akechi laughed lightly at that. “Oh, I just didn’t want to keep looking back at the picture you sent to recall what comes next. I figured it’d be better if I learned the steps beforehand.”

“Understandable.” Ren added in some bay leaves and a heaping tablespoon of honey, stirring it well. “Could you add in about three-fourths of the roux while I grab the rest of the ingredients?”

He nodded, taking Ren’s place at the pot. Ren set aside a dark chocolate bar, some yogurt and instant coffee before coming up beside Akechi. He’d added in most of it as Ren told him to, then started stirring it all together. The curry was beginning to thicken into that pleasant consistency they wanted, filling up the room with the scent of spices. 

“Okay, I’ll take over from here,” he murmured, opening up the chocolate before breaking pieces off from about half the bar, followed by a tablespoon of instant coffee. The full-fat yogurt added a lovely creaminess to the curry, while also brightening the colour after the addition of the chocolate and coffee.

While he did that, Akechi had gone to wash up some rice before adding it to the rice cooker. They were nearing the end of the cooking process, causing him to glance over at the clock. It’s been a long while since they began, about three hours. Not like he was surprised though, curry always took a long time to prepare, especially if the ingredients weren’t pre-prepped like this. 

Ren took two plates out after he finished with the curry, then began cleaning up all of the containers and ingredients they left strewn about. A quick glance over at Akechi made Ren notice that he seemed quite lost in thought. He opened his mouth to ask what’s wrong, but Akechi spoke first.

“Amamiya-kun?” He started, looking a bit unsure. Now that’s an expression he wasn’t used to seeing on Akechi. Ren tilted his head curiously, keeping his attention on Akechi to let him know he’s listening.

“Do… you ever wonder what it would’ve been like if we’d met a few years earlier?”

Ren blinked at him slowly. If they’d met a few years earlier… He hadn’t considered it, in all honesty. Though, Akechi seemed to be a different story, judging by how hesitant he seemed with bringing it up. He didn’t seem to be aware of it, but his shoulders were tense as he spoke. 

He hummed to himself as he tried to think of the right words to say. “I didn’t really consider it until now, but now that you mention it, I  _ do _ have to wonder if anything would’ve changed. We’re pretty close friends, but I think we’d be even closer with more time. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason in particular,” Akechi evaded. He kept his hands busy by filling up the plates with rice, then pouring curry over one half. “I suppose I was just thinking about how fate works in a funny way. You’ve helped me see many things in a different light in the short time we’d known each other, so I had to wonder what it would’ve been like if we’d met earlier. Anyways, let’s eat, shall we?”

And with that, he walked out of the kitchen, carrying both plates to the dining table. Ren stared at the place where he stood seconds ago, mulling over what Akechi told him. He was… obviously not willing to share the specifics of what was on his mind, but the little he  _ did _ say was enough to get Ren thinking. Could this be about…? No, it can’t be, he wouldn’t hint at the plan in such an obvious way. But in the same vein, he sounded as if he regretted this turn of events. 

Ren heaved a sigh, shaking his head to bring himself back. Maybe he shouldn’t overthink it. If it’s something that’s been on Akechi’s mind, he’ll probably get answers for it in his Palace. For now, he’d just eat with Akechi.

He’ll figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> link to the leblanc recipe i used is [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMW-F11uph0&t=1s)!! i hope that didn't make you hungry LMAO


	5. Chapter 5

When they found themselves in front of the fortress’ Keep again, the gate was wide open.

Ren was so relieved that he could cry. He was honestly beginning to feel uncertain yesterday in the moments before Akechi let him into his apartment, but it seems like his risk was worth it after all. 

“Damn, Joker actually did it!” Ryuji exclaimed, clearly very impressed.

“Well, I didn’t doubt him for a second,” Morgana said, looking up at Ren with a satisfied look in his eyes. “He never does anything half-baked!”

Everyone else seemed to be just as relieved as Ren, knowing that they can now progress. If all goes well, they should be able to secure a route to the treasure today. Didn’t seem like there would be anything else getting in their way, though… He had to wonder. Would Akechi  _ really _ make it that easy for them? Someone like him was bound to have tricks up his sleeve, so there must be something else. 

“That’s true. Though he’s also pretty sneaky, using Sojiro’s recipe to bribe him. Clever Joker!” Futaba praised, snickering to herself.

Oh, of course she’d stalk their chat. He sighed to himself, burying his face into a gloved hand to hide his small smile. “Don’t tell Sojiro?”

“No worries, I wouldn’t sell you out like that.”

Makoto cleared her throat, bringing everybody back to the task at hand. “Alright, enough of that. Why don’t we enter the Keep? I see another door up ahead.”

Ren nodded, gesturing for them to follow as he walked past the open gates. The room he’d entered was reminiscent of a crossroads, with two doors on either side of him and one directly ahead. Both of the doors beside him were tall and intricate, with gilded detailing on the doors themselves and on the tops of the door frames, delicate swirls of gold creating a swooping arch. There were also pillars on both sides of the doors, framing them in tall, carved ivory.

Meanwhile, the door up ahead couldn’t be any more different. It appeared much shorter because of the lack of detailing above the door frame, though it was also a deep mahogany shade as opposed to the white and gold of the rest of the room. It looked terribly out of place in the bright room; it was hard  _ not _ to focus on it. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the right wall of the room also had a set of spiralling stairs built along the wall, leading up to a second floor. 

“There’s three different rooms connected to this one… Which one do we check first?” Haru wondered out loud. 

When Ren looked over at Yusuke, he had to bite his lip to suppress a smile. His nose was scrunched up as he stared at the door in front of them, clearly displeased with its presence. “The lack of consistency here is appalling…”

“Snrk– of course that’s what Inari would focus on,” Futaba mumbled.

“Uhh… That aside, I’m a bit curious too about why one of these doors looks so different from the others. Maybe we should check that one out first?” Ann suggested.

Morgana suddenly sped past them and towards the door, as if to confirm something. “There it is! It feels a bit faint, but the treasure is somewhere beyond that door!”

“He’s right,” Futaba said. She seemed to be analyzing their surroundings as she spoke. “I can sense it somewhere above us, so we might have to go higher up, but it’s definitely on the other side of this door. Is it unlocked?”

Ren approached it and tried to push it open, only to be met with resistance. Pulling it did nothing either. His brows furrowed with displeasure, though he couldn’t say that he didn’t expect something like this. “It’s locked.”

“Ugh…” Ryuji groaned, hanging his head. “We better not have to leave the Palace again to get past here.”

“ _ That won’t be necessary. _ ”

That voice…!

“Can you explain?” Ren asked immediately. Akechi’s voice rang in their ears even louder than last time. Was he close by?

“ _ I can’t say I was expecting you to actually convince him. He’s never allowed anyone in there, _ ” Akechi spoke. “ _ Do not expect me to help you beyond this point, but I suppose I can give you a hint as to what you have to do. _ ”

“A hint… Akechi, why are you so willing to help us? I’m not complaining, but it’s very unexpected from a Palace ruler’s shadow,” Makoto inquired, her head tilted slightly. 

Ren could practically hear him scoff. “ _ I’m giving you a hint, but that doesn’t mean I expect you to actually figure it out. The book on the floor is all that you need. _ ”

Now that he mentioned it, there was an incredibly thin book on the floor in front of the mahogany door. Ren knelt down and picked it up, taking a good look at it. The illustration on the cover showed a Prince in royal clothing looking out of the window of a tower, with a huge black dragon curled up on the ground directly below. The art style was quite cartoonish, clearly meant to appeal to kids. It seemed to be a fairytale, though he’s never heard of this one.  _ The Prince and his Dark Dragon… _

The others peered over his shoulder, looking at it just as curiously. Morgana murmured to himself thoughtfully. “A children’s book...?”

“Wait, doesn’t the Prince on the cover look a bit like Akechi?” Futaba pointed out. She was right; upon closer inspection, the hair colour and cut looked identical to Akechi’s, and the princely outfit was vaguely reminiscent of his metaverse outfit, with the white, red and gold tones. Though, aside from the colours, the articles of clothing looked completely different. From what he could see, it reminded Ren of eighteenth century men’s clothing. Seemed to be quite consistent with the rest of the Palace so far.

“It really does,” Ann said. “Joker, can you flip through the pages real quick?”

He nodded, turning the cover to reveal the first page. There were small illustrations on each page, with a small paragraph taking up the top half of the page space with its large text. Ren bit his lip at the realization that this seemed to be a retelling of Akechi’s own life. The first page read...

_ Once upon a time, _

_ There lived a young Prince named Akechi Goro, born to the beautiful Akechi Tatsuko. Ever since he was a child, the Prince lived a very hard life. The King abandoned the two of them after the Prince was born, all for the sake of his Kingdom.  _

When he flipped to the next page, he found that there seemed to be a couple of pages torn out of the book. He frowned to himself, wondering why they were torn out. It’s not like they could read the rest of it with missing context.

“I think we have to find the missing pages,” Makoto said. “Maybe when we put them back where they should be, the door will unlock?”

“Would that really work though?” Ryuji asked, looking at her with uncertainty.

Ren hummed as he gave it some thought. That did seem plausible, Akechi  _ did _ say the book had something to do with getting past the door, unless he meant chucking the book at the door until it breaks… But it’s hardly heavy enough for that. He muffled a snicker at his own dumb thought.

“Definitely worth a shot, we’d have to backtrack and check the rooms outside the Keep though. There are only two rooms here, and definitely not just two missing pages, though there also seem to be stairs leading up to a second floor. Maybe we can find something up there too,” Ren suggested.

“Akechi?” prompted Haru, as if asking for confirmation. 

However, there was no response. 

“Ugh, his signal cut out again! He really wasn’t kidding about leaving us after just one hint,” Futaba muttered, clearly annoyed with the shadow’s flakiness.

Morgana leapt up onto Ren’s shoulder, looking at the rest of the team. “Well, what do you guys think is the best way to go about this?”

“I think we should go back and look for the missing pages,” Yusuke chimed in. “That seems to be the most likely way to get the door open.”

“Agreed! I can’t see what else we could do with the book, in all honesty,” said Ann. 

A murmur of agreement spread through the group, collectively deciding to make an attempt and see what happens. Ryuji looked over at Ren, looking for confirmation. “Well, you’re our leader. What do you think?”

“It seems like the best course of action. Let’s go with it for now and change our strategy if any problems arise.”

Pocketing the book, he led the group out of the Keep and back into the courtyard. He then stopped outside of the Keep gate, looking back at them for input. “Should we try the room next to the Chapel that we didn’t go into, or should we start from the other side?”

“I say we check out the small room next to the Chapel first, for the sake of going in order,” Haru said.

Futaba hummed thoughtfully to herself. “The large room on the right is making me wonder what’s inside, but I think Noir’s right. Wouldn’t wanna skip a room by accident later on.”

“Then let’s check in there first.”

Everyone was quick to follow Ren in the direction of the building next to the chapel. It was directly on the left when they walked out of the fortress’ Keep, flanked by stairs going up to defensive towers at the centre and corner of the curtain wall behind the building. The door to the room was nondescript and tinted in muted brown. There was a large window looking into the building, which seemed like a kitchen upon further inspection. 

Well, time to take a look at it. 

Ren grabbed the handle and opened the door.

The first thing he noticed upon entering the kitchen was the heat. There was a leftover scent of smoke from when it was previously used, coming from the place where there used to be an open fire. It was likely used for cooking, along with what looked to be a cast-iron dutch oven – if he remembered the name correctly – which was perched right above the remains of the fire. Some of the ground nearby was charred and darkened as a result of the cooking process. 

Some of the others began coughing into their arms. Ann made a noise of displeasure, fanning herself to avoid breathing in the scent. “Augh– I definitely wasn’t expecting the kitchen to smell like this!”

“Huh, I think that’s why it doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the banquet hall…” Ren thought to himself. “Seems to be a deliberate design to keep the scent of smoke away from guests.”

“I can’t imagine having to cook in this kinda room.” Ryuji’s face was scrunched up. Honestly, Ren couldn’t blame him. The women of the time were always the ones to spend all day cooking for large meals and banquets, so he really didn’t want to think about how it felt for them to be stuck in this kinda heat so often.

Ren stepped a bit further into the room to observe the rest of it. There was a long table in the centre of the room containing ingredients upon ingredients, placed strategically for ease of cooking. Chopped vegetables have been abandoned on the chopping board and other utensils were strewn about the table, giving off the impression that it hadn’t been too long since it was last used. Shelves lined the walls of the room, containing designated rows for spare ingredients, utensils, pots and pans, and cutlery. 

Speaking of, all of the cutlery here seemed to be made of silver – even the cups. All of the stuff here was commonly used for public banquets, and silver cutlery tended to be used by the rich and wealthy back then, so the guests must’ve felt extremely pampered.

“What is this?” Yusuke mumbled, catching Ren’s attention. He seemed to be looking at a contraption consisting of a wheel attached to the ceiling. “This seems to be connected by rope to what looks like a spear…”

“Oh, that? That’s a turn spit,” Makoto stated. She walked over to him and motioned towards the wheel. “This was rotated by a dog that ran on it, which rotated the spit using the rope. It was used for cooking and roasting meat instead of rotating a spit manually, which took much more time and energy.”

“I see.” Yusuke nodded, seemingly placated by the information.

Huh, he honestly never knew that before. Ren tended to focus more on historical fashion and architecture, and never really did research on practical devices. He kinda had to wonder though… “How do you know that?”

Makoto chuckled, scratching her cheek sheepishly. “I’ve always been a bit intrigued by how things worked in the past, so I ended up doing some research on older machinery and tools a couple of months ago.”

“That’s super admirable, Queen! I’d love to do some historical research too, though I’d probably focus more on the fashion aspect…” Haru chimed in, then trailed off thoughtfully. “I’ve always been interested in fancier dresses like the ones from the Rococo or Victorian eras.”

“I’ve done lots of research on fashion in the past. I could definitely teach you some stuff about them,” Ren offered immediately. He  _ adored _ fashion from those specific eras, though he knew infinitely less about the Victorian era than the entirety of the eighteenth century. Maybe he could learn some stuff in the process too?

“You could? Oh, that’d be so lovely, thank you Joker!” Haru smiled at him, already looking quite excited. Truly, nothing gave him more joy than finding someone to teach, especially if they seemed passionate about it. 

Yusuke seemed intrigued too, looking over at Ren with a twinkle in his eye. “Could I join in, by chance? I’d love to be able to capture the silhouettes of past fashions as accurately as possible in my works.”

“Of course, Fox.”

“Uh, not to rain on the parade or anything, but there doesn’t seem to actually be anything useful in this room,” Futaba interrupted. “No maps of sorts, no ripped out pages, nothing out of place that looks like it’d come in handy later.”

Ann groaned, slouching over a bit. “Seriously...? Should we move onto the next room then, to avoid wasting time?”

“I looked everywhere, there isn’t anything hidden in here. Unless you count the insane amount of eggs in the corner,” Ryuji said. Ren looked over to where he was motioning and raised an eyebrow. That… really  _ is _ an insane amount of eggs, did all households usually have this many?

Morgana snorted quietly. “Those aren’t really hidden, Skull. Though to be fair, I  _ do _ wonder why people stockpiled that many eggs.”

“Probably showed up in tons of recipes,” Ren suggested. “I can only imagine how many eggs needed to be used when preparing meals for banquets.”

“Huh, I guess that makes sense.”

Makoto cleared her throat, then gestured towards the door. “Well, should we get going then?” 

Futaba was the first to skip over to the door and hold it open for them as they all filtered out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly more of a filler scene than anything!! I included this one because of the kitchen's presence on the map of goro's palace and I didn't really want to just,, not do anything with it LMAO I'm still laughing over the massive pile of eggs by the way


	6. Chapter 6

The fresh air in the courtyard was much needed after the stifling smokiness of the kitchen, giving them all a moment to stop and breathe.

“So we didn’t find anything new there… Should we try the large room that Oracle wanted to go to before?” Ann proposed.

“We could,” Makoto agreed. “We likely have a better chance of finding something there.”

“Honestly, I’ll be surprised if a room that large doesn’t have one of those missing pages,” Ryuji said.

Ren glanced at the others, gesturing for them to follow. “Well, let’s go take a look.” 

There were no guards around here this time either, meaning that the walk there was quite uneventful. The door here seemed much like the two gilded ones in the Keep, if only a little more intricate. Candles were fixed to the wall on either side of the door, though they weren’t lit. Now that he thought about it, all of the other buildings had candles on the wall too. He wondered how often they were lit and replaced, if at all.

When he raised a hand to push the door open, he hesitated for a moment. Ren had a feeling that they were about to find something significant in this room, and he wasn’t sure if he was prepared for it. 

Well, it wouldn’t be wise to put it off for too long either, would it?

He finally pushed the doors gently, taking in the sight of the large banquet hall with a sharp inhale. It was so beautiful… Much like in the Chapel, the tall walls were a clean white with gold tinting the panel molding, creating a gorgeous frame. The gilded chair rail a few feet up from the bottom of the wall accentuated the base, which was thicker than the rest. There were multiple windows on the right side of the hall too, allowing plenty of light into the room that helped create a spacious feel. 

All of the detailing provided a rich atmosphere, making him feel extremely out of place. Ren recalled how one of the three men mentioned something about banquets, so he could only imagine how guests must’ve felt in here if they were a bit less wealthy.

The room itself consisted of two long tables with rows of chairs lined up, leaving the middle of the room and the sides closest to the wall open for people to walk. Both of the tables had multiple candle-holders placed on top of them, though none of the candles were lit. 

What was most striking though was the ceiling. There were three chandeliers hanging off of it in a row, distributing equal amounts of light to all parts of the room. They hung low, however, to be able to reveal the mural spanning the entire ceiling. The light tones of the painting paired well with the white and gold of the room’s architecture. The painting itself depicted clouds among clouds, tinted a lovely orange due to the setting sun. Winged people clad in colourful clothing flew about while holding swords, a bow and arrow, or simply extending their hands to somebody else. 

It reminded him of a specific style of painting, though he couldn’t put his finger on it…

He heard Yusuke gasp as he stepped into the room, clearly having noticed the mural. “Ah! How beautiful… This one is a bit lighter in terms of colour palette, but it reminds me of Pietro da Cortona's  _ Allegory of Divine Providence _ !”

“You could come up with a similar style with just a quick glance at it?” Ann asked. “You’re so impressive, Fox!”

Haru giggled to herself before she spoke. “He must be really passionate about his work if he could recall specific details so quickly.”

As the others sang Yusuke’s praises, Ren felt a smile come across his face. Even in situations like these, his friends never failed to turn the atmosphere just a bit brighter. Truly, he loved that about them. 

Though, he did wish they’d actually focus on the task at hand. The atmosphere in this room felt a bit off to Ren, leaving him on edge and observing everything with extreme focus. Almost as if he expected something to leap out at them from somewhere. 

However, nothing of the sort happened. Maybe he’s just paranoid… Though his worries should technically be justified, considering how tricky of a man Akechi is. If Ren was feeling a change in the atmosphere, he should probably trust his gut.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I think we should go further into the room. I’m getting an odd feeling from this room, so keep your guards up,” Ren cautioned.

“I’m getting no enemy readings here, but I’m definitely feeling some sort of difference in the atmosphere too,” Futaba added. “Definitely be careful, but I don’t think you’ll end up fighting in here.”

The others seemed to take their words to heart and kept a lookout for anything odd as Ren led them further into the room. Walking down the open path in the middle, he took the time to truly admire the beauty of the room. 

Now that he thought about it, the architecture inside of the fortress was infinitely more reminiscent of a palace from the Rococo era than of early eighteenth century castle architecture, so it was definitely not accurate in terms of timeline, but the detailing in here was incredibly accurate otherwise. 

He really had to wonder if Akechi was actually very knowledgeable about historical architecture, or if it was just the way the Palace manifested. The little history nerd in him secretly hoped it was the former; he'd love to have someone to talk about it with.

As he neared the end of the hall, Ren noticed that there seemed to be another door on the right side of the wall in front of them. Just as he was about to mention it, Futaba gasped.

“Hold on, I'm getting a weird reading here!”

They all stopped immediately and looked around for any enemies, when he heard Haru make a small noise. Ren looked over at her to see if she was alright, only to feel his breath hitch.

The hall from where they came from had previously been empty, but now there were… kids? He needed a moment to confirm that they were in fact kids, no younger than eight years old, though some of them looked to be a bit older. All of them wore miniature versions of what the adults in the town wore, which was typical back then, though their clothes were significantly less ornate. However… 

“Uh, is it just me or is the area around those kids looking a little hazy?” Ryuji asked.

“So it wasn’t just me then,” murmured Ren. Just as Ryuji described, there looked to be a haze enveloping the children, making the scene in front of them seem almost like a dream. Though, there was something odd about them. The haze deepened around their faces, blurring their expressions to the point where it was impossible to distinguish any features. Ren assumed that all the children were going to have that haze, when his eyes landed on a small child cowering against the wall, surrounded by older kids.

Not only did the cropped brown hair look a little familiar, but Ren could make out his expression perfectly, unlike the rest. He seemed panicked, backed up against the wall and blinking wide-eyed up at the taller kids caging him in. 

“Ye– yes? Did I do anything?” He asked them shakily, trying to make himself seem as small as possible as he backed up further.

The kid in the middle crossed his arms and glared down at the scared child. “You know exactly what you did,  _ Akechi _ . You’re the one who stole my ring, didn’t you?”

“Your… your ring? No, uhm, I didn’t–”

“Of course it was you! Who else would it be?” Interrupted the one on Akechi’s left. “It just so happens that I  _ also _ lost something valuable a few days ago. Where’s my watch, huh?”

Akechi’s eyes widened even more as he shook his head frantically. “Why would I steal a watch or a ring? It wasn’t me, I swear…”

“Liar. The ring is all I have left of my dad, and you know that! The others are too stupid to steal without getting caught, or they’re too scared to do it in the first place, so it can only be you. Hand it over.”

The kid on Akechi’s right chimed in. “We’re older than you, have some respect. We could tell the caretakers about this!”

“I… I really don’t have your stuff though,” Akechi stammered in a quieter tone than before, averting his eyes nervously. The one in the middle seemed to become impatient as he stuck his hands into Akechi’s pockets, causing him to gasp and try to back away. “Hey!”

“Ugh, he’s got nothing,” he confirmed, taking his hands out. The kid on the left heaved a tired sigh, making Ren think that he was about to give up, but then he straightened back up and shoved Akechi against the wall  _ hard _ .

“We’re going to search your part of the room for our stuff. If we find anything, you’ll have hell to pay.”

At this point, Ren had enough. He ignored Makoto’s voice telling him not to get any closer and walked right up to the asshole to pull him back by the shoulder, when his hand phased right through it. He blinked down at the spot where the kid’s shoulder was supposed to be, only to find that him and the other three were gone, just as suddenly as they appeared. 

“Wh– where did they…?”

“ _ You idiot, you can’t save a kid from the past. _ ”

Ren snapped out of his surprise. Seems like it didn’t take long for Akechi’s shadow to speak up again. When he looked back at the others, he found that they seemed to be surprised by their disappearances as well. 

“Hey, uh, Akechi. Why did they just poof away like that when Joker came close?” Futaba asked the shadow.

“ _ What you just saw was a memory. It was only coincidental that it wrapped up when he tried to intervene, _ ” he explained. “ _ In any case, this room holds memories of the orphanage. The younger children constantly got picked on by the older ones, and they could do nothing about it because they were expected to respect them regardless. It was not like the caretakers would be around to take the fights seriously, anyways. There were far too many kids for them to be able to check in with anyone for too long.” _

Makoto bit the inside of her cheek as she thought. “So what we just saw was an actual event that occurred in Akechi’s childhood, right? I was somewhat aware of how children were treated in orphanages, but I had no idea that it was so common for them to be abandoned…”

“Yeah, no wonder the older kids got away with bullying the younger ones,” Ann said. She seemed incredibly troubled by this, judging by the frown taking over her entire expression. 

“ _ We got used to it after a while. The older we got, the less harassment came our way. And besides, he made sure to get out of there as fast as possible once he figured out his next step. _ ”

Next step… 

“What do you mean by that?” Ren asked.

A moment of silence was shared before they realized that the shadow wasn’t going to respond again. He groaned quietly, resigning himself to the fact that communication might be a bit more difficult than he thought it would be.

“Well, I guess we can try to grill him more next time,” Futaba told him, trying to comfort him in her own way. He patted her head gently, letting her know that he appreciated it.

“Joker, I seem to have found something.”

Yusuke’s words brought everybody’s attention to him. Ren found him at a spot near one of the table ends, holding what seemed to be a piece of paper. When he came closer, it didn’t take too much time for him to figure out what exactly it was.

“Oh, I think you just found one of our keys,” Ren confirmed as he dug the storybook out of his pocket.

“Good work, Fox!” Ryuji praised, patting the other’s shoulder encouragingly.

Ren took the torn page from Yusuke’s hand and examined the gaps between the pages. From what he could see, the spine still had some of the torn paper leftover due to the tight binding. He supposed that made his job a bit easier, as it was only a matter of matching the loose leaf to the gap. With some trial and error, he found that it perfectly fit the second gap in the storybook.

Though… how was he supposed to attach it back to the book? He knew there were ways to fix torn pages, though he couldn’t remember any of the methods, nor the materials that would have to be used. Unless he just… left it inside the gap?

He exhaled quietly, deciding to simply slot it between the pages for safe-keeping. However, it appeared that the tears began mending themselves, fusing together until the gap was completely closed. It was almost as if the page was never gone to begin with.

“Woah, did the page just fix itself?” Morgana asked, hopping onto Yusuke’s shoulder to be able to peer down at the book.

“It seems so,” Ren murmured. He didn’t quite understand  _ why _ , but at this point, he wasn’t going to question it. Deciding to ignore that for now, he reviewed the pages that they currently had. There was another gap before the page that they just retrieved, but he should be able to read some more of the book now that they’ve got more context. It should be fine to overlook the gap and come back to it later, he supposed. 

Starting from the page before the new one, he began reading through both sides of the two pages.

_ Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Akechi Tatsuko was found dead. The Prince was devastated beyond words. He lived with other families for multiple years after that, but none were as kind to him as his mother.  _

_ Grateful as he was for the roof over his head and the clothes on his back, things never felt the same for the Prince after that fateful day.  _

_ Sometimes, he stayed in large orphanages within the Kingdom. The caretakers were extremely busy however, so the Prince rarely got attention from them.  _

_ The older kids at the orphanages were very mean to the younger ones, often calling them names or pushing them around. He never truly felt safe, and constantly missed his mother. _

… It essentially repeated what they learned from the memory, but somehow it made his heart ache even more. Knowing that he had to go through all of that while still mourning his mother’s death...

Judging by the others’ expressions, he knew they felt the same way he did. 

“Let’s keep going. We _ have to _ .”

“I agree,” Makoto said. “Admittedly, this is no longer just about preventing the interrogation room plot. We also need to change Akechi’s heart, for his sake.”

Everyone seemed to agree, nodding at her words. As he was taking a look at everyone’s determined faces, Ren spotted Futaba walking over to the door in the room that they haven’t checked inside of yet. Right, he forgot about that one.

“Oh, Oracle, are there any readings in there?” He asked as he walked up to her.

“Nope, but I’m kinda curious as to what’s inside. Wanna check it out before we move on?”

He hummed a confirmation, then reached for the handle to push the door open.

It seemed to be a wine cellar, though it was incredibly narrow. He could immediately spot barrels upon barrels lined up towards the right side of the wall, all of them relatively large. As he stepped into the room, he saw shelves fixed onto the wall on his left, storing large amounts of wine bottles for easy access. 

Upon closer inspection, a lot of them seemed to be Port wines. The bottles looked incredibly different from the ones commonly seen today, as many of them were quite short and wide as opposed to the long, narrow silhouette he was used to seeing. Quite fascinating, in his opinion.

Though, aside from these bottles, he could spot nothing that could be of use to them.

“I don’t see anything aside from a lot of wine in here,” he told them as he walked out of the cellar, closing the door behind him.

“Wine, hm? Could that have any significance in this Palace?” Yusuke asked curiously.

“Nah, I don’t think so. Akechi’s too young to drink, and I know that old castles usually had a wine cellar, so I think that’s just there for accuracy like the kitchen was,” Ann suggested.

Makoto seemed to agree. “I’d say the same. He doesn’t seem like the type to hold too much significance to alcohol either, so it’s likely the way the Palace manifested.”

“Well, if there’s nothing left to look at in this room, should we get going?” Ren cut in. 

“We should! There’s only one more building left in the courtyard, so let’s look at that one before checking the ones in the Keep,” Morgana suggested as he began walking back down the hall, towards the door. Everyone else followed close behind and exited the banquet hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god, the treatment of kids in japanese orphanages hurts me


	7. Chapter 7

The walk to the next building was silent. Nobody found any reason to speak, though Futaba made them stop for a moment before they entered.

“Just a moment. There’s another one of the weird readings I got when we were inside the banquet hall, likely another memory. No enemy readings though,” Futaba confirmed.

“Let’s still be cautious though. We assumed there would be no readings in the previous room and still ended up being caught by surprise,” Makoto reminded. “Keep your guards up.”

Ren heeded their warnings, taking a deep breath before pushing the door open. 

He was met with the sight of a relatively large billiards room with a tall, thick pillar in the centre, from which four arches extended to the pillar in the middle of each wall, separating the room into four different sections like a cross. From what he could see, the pillar had shelves built into it to hold novels, much like a mini library. 

Three of the sections in the room were occupied by round tables, while comfortable looking chairs surrounded them. He could also spot cabinets against a couple of the walls in the room, though he could not see what they contained. Paired with the tables, he assumed that perhaps the cabinet contained fine china for tea that could be had before or after a game. The entire room was awash with plenty of natural light coming from the window at the far end of the room, making it seem larger than it is.

What was most shocking, however, were the cognitions that already surrounded the billiards table in the bottom right section of the room, far right from where they were standing. There stood a cognitive version – or was it a shadow? – of Akechi, and next to him was…

Himself?

He could hear the thieves’ murmurs of surprise as they entered the room behind him, having noticed the duplicate Ren. Honestly, it took him a moment to register just what he was looking at, but when his brain finally caught up to him, he realized that this was probably Akechi’s memory of… him. Likely a recreation of one of their moments at Penguin Sniper.

Ren took a moment to take in what they were wearing. It seemed to be common garb for the eighteenth century, somewhat similar to what the gentlemen wore back in the rich neighbourhood, though there were significant differences. 

The colour scheme Akechi had for his outfit made him look truly regal. His white breeches had golden embroidery on the cuffs, and from what Ren could see of his cropped red waistcoat, the narrow border around it was also painted gold. To top it all off, he wore a long, unbuttoned red coat over it with even more intricate embroidery around the hem and at the front. It almost billowed behind him as he leaned over the table to align his cue stick, taking a shot.

The other Ren was much less lavish, though still ornate enough to be reminiscent of a noble. His breeches and waistcoat were a matching red, with a golden belt cinching his silhouette in above the hip. The high collar of his white shirt peeked out from under a simple, unadorned black coat that was buttoned down to the waist, where it flared out to reveal the waistcoat underneath. The coat paired well with the tall, dark riding boots he wore. 

Another similarity was that they both wore tricorne hats, as well as sheathed blades at their hips, though it seemed to be more of a fashion accessory in this case as they had no real use for them.

If he was being honest, he never really considered wearing eighteenth century clothing in the style that his cognitive version wore, but he was kind of liking it. He probably wouldn’t be confident enough to wear it out in public though, even if he  _ did _ try replicating it. 

The sound of the cognitions speaking tore him out of his thoughts.

“What’s your move?” The cognitive Akechi asked, taking a step back to give Ren his space.

It felt quite odd to be able to see himself as he strategized, taking note of the positions of the balls before making any sort of action. In the same vein, he could definitely spot actions that he himself likely would’ve taken if he were the one playing, so he had to wonder just how closely Akechi has been observing him during their games. He made a mental note to avoid predictable actions for their next game; his competitive streak wouldn’t allow him to look like an easy target.

“My move…” He murmured as he got into position, setting up the bridge and aligning the cue stick. “6-ball in the corner pocket.”

The cue ball struck the 6-ball and caused it to bounce off of another one, deflecting in the direction of the pocket. However, it seemed that he got the angle wrong, causing it to come back out of the pocket rather than sink. The cognition cursed under his breath. 

Akechi smiled to himself, as if already having predicted that move, and lined up his own cue. “A good move, but I already have you cornered. 10-ball in the middle pocket.”

His shot was successful, though he ended up sinking a second ball in the process. It seemed like it was all calculated too, judging by the subtle smugness to his expression. From what he could see, Akechi sunk all of his balls, while Ren was left with one more. If he didn’t make this shot, he could lose very quickly.

The cognitive Ren seemed to acknowledge this as much as he himself did. However, he decided to play a slightly risky bank shot, having no other choice due to the ball’s placement. He took great care in lining up his shot though, eyes flitting between the ball and the rail, then to the pocket and back, as if checking multiple times that it would sink. “2-ball in the middle pocket.”

The ball struck the rail and bounced back before finally entering the pocket.

Ren had been unknowingly holding his breath that entire time, exhaling slowly when he was certain that the cognitive Ren’s shot was successful. Honestly, he wasn’t surprised that he caught himself competing with Akechi even if he wasn’t actually playing against him. It actually felt like a compliment, knowing that Akechi saw him as a person who could compete with him and keep up. 

He could see Akechi’s brows furrow slightly, watching Ren’s next movements like a hawk as he moved positions. Lining up his cue stick in front of the cue ball, he made sure that his path was clear before calling.

“8 ball in the corner pocket.”

The 8-ball rolled and rolled until it slowed down near the pocket, just enough to push itself over the edge, and– 

It stopped right in front of the pocket.

The cognitive Ren clenched his jaw, looking rightfully upset about the lack of speed on that shot, but Akechi couldn’t look more pleased. He took Ren’s place and lined up his own cue stick, taking victory for himself with a single stroke.

“You played a good game, but you still have more losses than wins,” Akechi murmured, turning to face Ren with a bright smile. “You won against me once already. I wonder if you could repeat it?”

Ren only sighed as he put the cue stick back, followed by Akechi doing the same. “You  _ do _ have more experience than me, I’ll give you that. How do you get time to practice, anyways? I assume the role of Prince comes with frequent duties.”

“It’s not like I never get free time; I find it relaxing, being able to come here and practice. Though, I have to admit that you provide a greater challenge than any of my previous games with other nobles.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Ren responded with a grin. “I wonder how the Duke would react, knowing that he’s worse off at the game than an Earl?”

Akechi muffled a chuckle into his hand at the thought. “Oh, he would look so indignant, especially since he doesn’t seem too fond of you or your father. I’m surprised that he actually thought he had a chance against me.”

“It’d be quite impressive if there  _ was _ someone in the Kingdom who could beat you.”

“You have the potential to. You beat me with my handicap, so I’m certain that with enough practice, you could become a stronger opponent. However, that doesn’t mean I’ll make it easy for you,” Akechi said with an audible smirk.

Ren seemed placated with that, giving back a smile of his own before walking over to the nearest cabinet and taking out china for the both of them. “I assure you that I’ll beat you again, no handicaps. Though, how about some tea now?”

“I’d love some,” he responded. Akechi hadn’t moved from his position next to the table, simply watching the cognitive Ren take tea cups out of the cabinet. Ren and the others could only barely catch what he said under his breath next, obviously not meant for the other cognition’s ears.

“... You're the only presence worth keeping in this sorry excuse of a Kingdom.”

And in the next moment, the cognitions vanished. 

In their place, he could spot a loose leaf of paper fluttering down from nowhere, swaying here and there before it settled on the ground. Nobody spoke yet, but Ann didn’t hesitate to walk past them and pick the page up. “He must really appreciate Joker, huh…”

Ren felt a joyous warmth in his chest, knowing that Akechi really did think of him as a friend, though he quickly swallowed the sensation back down. He can think about it later.

He walked up to Ann with everyone else following behind him. She offered the page to him and he took it gladly, taking the book out and sifting through the pages to find the appropriate gap. This page belonged to one of the last gaps, slotting into a page just before the last one. There were approximately two more pages to be found, from the looks of it. Technically he could read this one and the last page together now, but… He’ll hold off on the last page for now. Better to read the full thing in one go. 

For now, he began reading the newest page.

_ The Prince went through multiple years all alone with no one to lean on but the King, when one day he met the kind eldest son of a Marquess. Amamiya Ren, Earl of Inaba, came into the Prince’s life at just the right moment.  _

_ When the Earl bumped into him at a banquet and spilled his drink all over the Prince, he brought with him a whole new world that the Prince never got the chance to see. They were inseparable ever since they became friends, and often took long walks in the garden or played billiards together, though it wasn’t long before tragedy struck again. _

Ren bit his lip as he stared down at the page, barely registering the illustration that showed the two of them walking in the exact same courtyard from inside the Palace. He recalled the brief thought that passed through his mind, on the same night that he found out Akechi had a Palace. He was worried about Akechi never having thought of him as a friend, though it seemed like he had no reason to worry. Ren might’ve been the  _ only _ person that he ever considered a friend. It made him feel... conflicted. He was incredibly happy that he could be a reassuring presence for Akechi, but at the same time, knowing that he had no one else...

His heart twinged, but he tried to ignore it. 

“I wonder… did Akechi never have a proper friend before Joker came along?” Haru questioned, putting the thought back into Ren’s head.

“It makes sense. No one was kind to him at the orphanage from the looks of it, and Joker was evidently the first person to challenge him in everything, while also never using his fame as a means to an end,” Makoto explained. 

Ann remained quiet, staring at the book in thought. When she spoke up, her tone was a bit downcast. “... I can sort of understand. I never had anyone before Shiho came along; at least, no one who was that close to me. So when we finally became friends, I treasured her a lot, you know? I’m sure Akechi feels the same way about Joker.”

“Then, uh, I gotta wonder how he feels about havin’ to kill Joker,'' Ryuji awkwardly cut in. “If there really is someone who ordered him to do that, then…”

A morose silence filled the room after his comment. They hadn’t really considered that, but Ryuji was right. There’s no way that Akechi felt good about it, after everything they’ve seen so far. Was there really no way for Akechi to reject the order? Was the person controlling him  _ that _ powerful? Suddenly, he felt dread building up at the thought of having to potentially take on such an opponent. Though, it’s questionable if Akechi would open up about the matter at all…

“Hold on, his shadow didn’t say anything yet, did he?” Morgana asked after a moment.

“Oh, you’re right... He spoke after the last memory, but didn’t really speak up here,” Makoto said, blinking wide-eyed. “Akechi?”

They waited quietly for a few seconds to see if he’d break the silence, but yet again, there was nothing. Was he ignoring them? There was no way he couldn’t hear their call. 

Futaba sighed quietly. “Well, um, if he’s not here then should we get going? We found the page…”

“I think so too. Joker?” Makoto prompted.

He nodded wordlessly, taking one last look at the page before putting the book back into his pocket. If Akechi really is going to have to do this against his will, then they need to hurry.

With no hesitation, he walked out of the billiards room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO okay so i've never played billiards before and I did my best with this scene, but PLEASE correct me if anything here just seems wrong and I'll correct it asap JSFGHK


	8. Chapter 8

The Keep was a sharp turn to the left, which he made his way towards with only a brief acknowledgement that the others were following him. Once he passed the gates and entered, he stopped in the middle of the room. Right… they needed to settle on which door to go through first. 

“Should we go through the door on the left or right first?” Yusuke inquired, beating him to it by a second. 

“I vote left!” Ann chimed in.

Morgana walked closer to the left door. “There’s an odd feeling about this room. Oracle, is there a memory active here already?”

Futaba hummed as she did a quick scan, nodding in confirmation. “Pretty sure the Palace chose the room order for us. There’s nothing in the room to the right yet, but the left room definitely has a reading.”

“Alright then, seems like it’s go time. You ready?” Ryuji asked him, resting a hand on his shoulder. Ren murmured a confirmation before grabbing the golden handle to push the door open.

Similarly to the banquet hall, this room was gorgeously ornamented. The chair rail and panel molding on the wall had the same golden hue, contrasting beautifully against the pure white. The tall pillars that were placed some distance away from both walls gave the room a larger feeling, with lengthy columns set upon thick pedestals. 

From the ceiling, there hung a large chandelier, giving light to the room along with the large windows lining the left side of the wall. And along the wooden parquet flooring, a long red carpet led up to a throne set upon a dais. 

The throne itself was tinted a regal red with intricately carved golden framing, and had a baldachin placed high above it. The curtain-like fabric sloped down from where it was pinned to the wall, surrounding the throne and the figure that sat atop. 

As Ren’s eyes landed upon the cognitions, he saw a figure clad in dark brown clothing walking down the red carpet and stopping some distance away from the one on the throne, who was presumably the King, judging by the gold tinting his clothing. As per the usual eighteenth century garb, the King wore knee-length breeches and a long waistcoat, cinched in above the hip by a black belt, with a long, golden ermine cloak placed on his shoulders to denote his royal status. He exuded  _ importance _ right down to his white shoes, which had square, gold buckles on top.

Meanwhile, the figure that was now kneeling in front of the King was anything but royal. From what Ren could see, it seemed to be a younger Akechi, based on his smaller stature. Besides the brown hues, his waistcoat was completely closed at the front, and his breeches were a considerably lighter brown for contrast. 

The fabric didn’t seem too expensive, giving clues as to his lower social status, though he was likely still a person who was very conscious of his looks, trying to come off as fashionable as possible. His white stockings were rolled over the cuffs of his breeches, which was considered trendy back then, and his shoes had buckles as well. The tricorne hat on top of his head topped the outfit off, making him seem well put together.

The two couldn’t be any more different.

The King observed the boy in silence as he kneeled, addressing him shortly after. “For what purpose do you visit?”

Ren almost didn’t catch Akechi’s next words as his head throbbed. That voice… It seemed all too familiar, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on whose it could’ve been. For some reason, an unpleasant feeling settled in his stomach. 

“Your majesty,” Akechi started, “please pardon my intrusion in your castle. I am Akechi Goro, from the Kingdom’s orphanage. I came to offer myself and my skills to you; I have developed some peculiar abilities over the past year, as outlandish as it may seem.”

In response to Akechi’s claims, the King’s brow furrowed. Unsurprisingly, he looked like he didn’t quite believe the young boy. Akechi seemed to realize this too and opened his mouth to explain further, but the King simply raised a hand to stop him.

“By  _ abilities _ , is there any chance you are referring to an awakening of rebellion? An… acknowledgement of sorts, regarding any particular circumstances and the need to flee from them? This could manifest as a physical being.”

Akechi looked up at the King in shock, blinking slowly as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Obviously, he wasn’t expecting him to know what was going on before he even explained. After a moment, he simply nodded.

“That… that is exactly it, sire. He comes in the form of Robin Hood, though there is also a secondary form in the shape of a dark dragon, which I only figured out by chance,” he said.

“A dragon, you say…” The King trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. His next words were murmured so quietly that Ren could barely catch them. “I wonder if Isshiki could make herself useful, this  _ is _ her specialty.”

“I’m sorry?”

He merely waved it off, as if to tell Akechi not to be concerned with it. “It’s nothing. You came to offer your abilities to me, yes? Then I should offer something in return. How about I shelter you in my castle and give you the title of Prince?”

Akechi didn’t speak for a moment, seemingly dumbfounded. He probably wasn’t expecting it to go this well, nor to be offered such an important title. “I’d be honoured, though… If I may ask, was there not a rumour about an absent Prince within the Kingdom? Would I technically be acting in place of him?”

“Hm, so you’re aware.” The King certainly seemed impressed with the young boy’s ability to locate loopholes in a statement, eyebrows raised subtly. “I suppose I should be open about it. Yes, the Prince  _ did _ go missing some years back, and the people still haven’t forgotten. If you do not mind, then you could work for me while also placating the public with the knowledge that the Prince has been found after all. However, that is only if you agree to those terms; I wouldn’t wish to force it upon you.”

Ren frowned to himself. It was so obvious that the King was trying to take advantage of Akechi’s offer and get him to do more for him, but Akechi was too young to realize it. In fact, he seemed incredibly pleased with this turn of events. Something about the smile on Akechi’s face seemed a bit too innocent, a bit too optimistic for the situation, and it made Ren’s stomach churn. It got easier for Ren to connect the dots and make an assumption about the events to follow…

“I’d love to, sire.”

“Excellent.” The King smiled at Akechi, gesturing for him to stand up. Akechi obeyed immediately, seemingly eager to get on his good side. “Tomorrow, I will have you meet a woman by the name of Wakaba Isshiki. She’ll help you hone your abilities.”

Ren heard Futaba gasp as soon as the King uttered her mother’s name. Wakaba…? What was her involvement in all of this? In fact, there’s a bigger question here; is the King representative of the person ordering Akechi to perform hits? If so, then why would she be involved with someone like  _ him _ ?

Akechi bowed his head in respect. “Thank you so much, sire. I’m looking forward to it.”

The memory faded away and in its place appeared another page, fluttering down to the floor just like it did last time. Ren ignored it for now in favour of checking on Futaba. When he looked back, he saw her rooted in place, staring wide-eyed at the spot where the cognitions stood mere moments beforehand. 

“Mom… why did he say her name?” She whispered shakily. 

Ren didn’t have an answer for that. He wanted to know just as badly as she did. 

He saw Makoto walking down the red carpet, picking up the page to read it over. Yusuke had a hand on Futaba’s shoulder in an effort to comfort, so Ren shot him a look to tell him to look after her before catching up with Makoto. 

When he got close, he saw that her brow was furrowed as she continued reading, seemingly troubled by what was written. She handed it over to him wordlessly. “... Read it.”

Ren took the book out and tried to find the appropriate gap first, slotting it into the space right after the first page they found; the one about the orphanages. It fit perfectly, merging with the spine just as easily as it did the first two times. Then, he started reading the newest page.

_ The Prince remained patient until one day, he found out that he had a unique skill. He had awakened to his true self and found his justice, and so he made a plan to find his father and convince him to stay with him in exchange for his skills, then take revenge on him for leaving him and his mother.  _

_ He ran away from the orphanage wearing the nicest clothes he owned and stuffed the few belongings he had into his pockets. Fortunately, the King heard him out and allowed him to live in his castle. Despite not knowing that the Prince was his son, he gave him the title to cover up an old rumor within the Kingdom about a missing Prince. _

He blinked down at the text, already feeling the questions popping up in his head. Akechi’s father… was the same person as the one forcing him to kill? The others crowded around him, exclamations of surprise filling the room as they finished reading, one by one. 

Wait, but… This explains a lot, actually. The reason Akechi let himself be ordered around was because it was part of his plan. Perhaps he realized at some point that some sacrifices were necessary if he was to take revenge on his father. Though, considering how his father was a King here, did that mean he was somebody important outside of the Palace? 

Just who were they dealing with?

“Akechi? I need answers,” Futaba spoke up. She still looked shaken up, but her tone wavered significantly less. 

“ _... Yes, I’m here. _ ”

“Tell me,” she demanded. “Who is that man, and what did my mom have to do with him?”

Akechi paused for a moment before responding. “ _ I’m sure you’re familiar with the name Masayoshi Shido. _ ”

“You mean… the man running for Prime Minister?” Makoto asked.

“ _ Precisely. You’ve likely heard his speeches before, though all those motivational words about bettering the country together alongside him and whatnot are nothing but a fake. He’s a despicable man beneath the surface who only cares about himself, _ ” he spat out. “ _ If you haven’t put two and two together, he’s also my father, unfortunately. _ ”

“Your father…” Haru trailed off. Ren sort of connected the dots after having read the page, but having a name to associate the man with just solidified it in his mind. Seems like Haru realized it too. “So if I’m assuming correctly, you want nothing to do with him; the only reason you’re working for him is to take revenge in the end, right?”

“ _ I wouldn’t say working  _ for  _ him, as that would imply I care about him and his ideals. All I’ve been seeking this whole time is to bring him up to the top and ‘support’ him, only to pull the rug out from underneath him and watch as he crashes and  _ burns _ at the hands of his bastard child. _ ”

With every word, Akechi sounded more and more resentful. He sighed quietly after that, as if to calm himself before continuing. “ _ And, about your mother… Her cognitive psience research was acknowledged by Shido, and at one point she actually worked for him. So when I came along, apparently Robin Hood wasn’t good enough for him, so he decided to take other precautions.  _

“ _ Bluntly put, she experimented on me and forced me to awaken a persona with special abilities to help me illicit mental shutdowns and rampages. When she succeeded, Shido told me to perform my first mental shutdown on her shadow as he ‘did not have any use for her anymore’ and wanted to take her research for himself. I did not go into it expecting to kill anyone.” _

A silence followed the shadow’s words as they tried to take it all in. Ren wasn’t aware when he’d stopped breathing, but he inhaled sharply to make up for it. Human experimentation, what the  _ fuck _ ?

Futaba’s eyes were even wider than before. Her shoulders were trembling again. “She… she did that?” She stammered. “Why? She wasn’t– That makes no sense, she’s not the kind of person to do something like that!”

“ _ But she  _ did _. She was a kind person, yes, but she had a Palace. I had to infiltrate it on my own after Shido ordered me to. Her persistence to get results, to further her research; it all contributed to the formation of distorted desires. I can’t sugarcoat the fact that she experimented on me for the sake of research, _ ” he persisted. 

Futaba’s gaze dropped to the floor as she exhaled shakily. Despite saying nothing, Ren could tell that she was having a hard time believing it. He couldn’t blame her – even he was in disbelief that Wakaba would actually agree to doing such a thing, based on what he’s heard about her. Though it does make sense; there’s no way Akechi could’ve killed Wakaba without there being a shadow, whether it was in Mementos or a Palace. 

He stepped closer to Futaba, rubbing gentle circles into her shoulder to wordlessly comfort her. Some of the tension seemed to leave her, but she was still shaky. 

“... If I may ask. You’re planning on taking revenge on Shido for all that he’s done, but what do you have planned afterwards?” Yusuke spoke up. 

“ _ Afterwards…? _ ” Akechi remained quiet for a moment after, as if he needed a moment to think. “ _ I’ll be honest, I didn’t plan too far ahead. When I decided to set my revenge plan in motion, the only thing I was working towards was getting the asshole off his high horse. I… was never able to picture a future. Even without the assumption that Shido would eventually have his men get rid of me, any plans I came up with seemed unrealistic or unattainable.” _

“You couldn’t think of anything happenin’ in the future, huh…” Ryuji whispered to himself, a deep frown etching itself into his face. “It ain’t comparable to what you went through, but it reminds me of how I felt after I couldn’t run anymore.”

He wasn’t met with any sort of response for a minute or so. The shadow was still there, Ren could tell, but he seemed to just be… silent. As if considering something.

_ “... Hurry along. He’s getting antsy again,” _ Akechi warned before his signal cut off. Just what did that–

The door to the throne room burst open. They all whipped around to see what was going on, only to be met with the sight of a guard that looked much like the one at the Chapel. Their metal suit clanked loudly as they stomped up to the group.

“Thieves! How dare you intrude upon this castle?”

“Damn it,” Ren cursed under his breath, getting ready for battle. Morgana, Haru and Yusuke came to his side in an instant, while Makoto, Ann and Ryuji went to the side with Futaba. When he glanced over at Futaba to check in on her, Ann nodded at him as if to say ‘everything’s alright’.

He heaved a sigh and turned back to the guard. Akechi’s shadow said ‘he’ was getting antsy, likely referring to the real him, but was that directly related to why they were suddenly getting attacked? There were hardly any enemies until now, which made it even more jarring.

“We’ve been intruding for the past few days, I’m surprised you noticed just now,” Ren quipped. The guard made a noise of displeasure, seemingly annoyed with his response.

“Silence! You are not to go any further.”

Just like the previous guard, their appearance warped until they took on the likeness of a Dominion. Ryuji was preoccupied with Futaba right now, so he’d need to use his own electricity for this fight. 

He’d switched to Norn just in time to resist a Kougaon headed his way. “Fox, use a physical attack to chip at its health!”

At his command, Yusuke summoned Goemon and attacked the enemy with Deadly Fury, bringing down its health significantly. Right after him, Ren used Ziodyne and watched as Dominion got twitched and trembled before crumpling to the ground. 

He gestured to the other three to surround the shadow. When the shadow looked up, they all had already taken their guns out and aimed.

“Wh– What do you lot want from me?” They asked, furrowing their brow.

“To let us through, and maybe we’ll let you live,” Ren murmured. 

They narrowed their eyes up at Ren, still seeming defiant. “I cannot do that. I would not betray Lord Akechi even if it was the last thing I did.”

Ren raised a brow. Maybe he’ll have to resort to other measures then. 

A warning shot aimed at the space beside the shadow caused them to jump. They looked at the other three guns aimed directly at them and grumbled, trying to get back onto their feet before seizing up again. Seems like the shock was still in effect. 

“Give it up. I want to ask you something,” he continued. “Ake–  _ Lord _ Akechi mentioned something about the real him getting antsy, and then you showed up. Is there something going on with the real one?”

With nowhere else to go, the shadow seemed to have realized that they had no choice but to answer his questions. Not without a resigned sigh, they responded. “The only explanation I have is that Lord Akechi is on high alert at times where something is burdening him. Perhaps the memories you’ve been viewing have been recurring for him, as well.”

"They're… they're recurring? Hold on, so he's been rememberin' these every time they became active?" Ryuji asked, seeming perplexed. 

The shadow nodded silently. Ren bit his lip as he thought about the memories they've witnessed so far. If what the shadow was saying is correct, then Akechi’s been recalling memories of the orphanage, memories of Shido and… of him. Ren wondered if he knew what was going on or if he was feeling confused and lost. 

He lowered his gun, prompting the other three to do the same. The shock hadn't worn off of the enemy yet, so they were still stuck on the floor. "We've made it this far. I'm not letting you stop us." 

"... Do as you wish," the shadow mumbled. "Since I'm already sharing information, I suppose it would not hurt to tell you that Lord Akechi secretly wishes for aid. If you're so adamant, then I must plead for you to finish what you've started. Keep in mind, however, that you must not underestimate his strength."

Ren felt something in his chest twinge. He wants help, huh… 

Then, he felt something click as he recalled a specific detail during their text conversations. It was so subtle that he'd initially brushed it off, but now that he thought about it, Akechi has been dropping hints. Lots of them, in fact. Among many silent calls for help, he once suggested that the traitor may not be doing this of their own volition. 

He wanted to kick himself for not realizing sooner. 

"Don't worry. I'd never leave him behind like that." 

Ren started running down the red carpet, towards the door. If he was right, there would be only one or two memories left to see. He hoped that the next one wouldn't cause Akechi’s mental state to deplete even more. He was  _ not _ in the mood to fight another shadow on his way out. 

He also didn’t want to find out how badly it would affect the real Akechi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE GIVE SO MUCH LOVE TO [LIZZ](https://twitter.com/tennlevi/status/1355271710610653184) AND HER ART!!! she's done an incredible job with it and I'm beyond happy with it <333


	9. Chapter 9

The others' footsteps sounded behind him as they tried to keep up. After exiting the throne room, he crossed the path between the doors and stopped in front of the one opposite. 

"Is the memory active?" Ren asked, turning back to the others. 

"It is," Futaba answered as soon as she caught up, stopping beside him. She seemed to be doing much better now; her face was less pale than before and she seemed to have a fire in her eyes that wasn't there moments ago. "Let's go, Joker." 

Looks like she's determined. He shot a grateful smile to the three who took care of her during the fight, then patted Futaba’s back gently. 

"Let's go." 

He reached for the handle and pushed the door open. 

On the other side of the door, he saw an incredibly spacious bedroom bathed in gold. It was extraordinarily lavish with expensive decor everywhere, evident in not only the colour but also the detail of the furniture. He could see an ornate vanity pressed up against the opposite wall, with huge swirls composing the frame of the mirror. 

The curtained windows as well as the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling gave warm lighting to the rest of the room, reflecting off of the gilding on the walls and furniture. A large, white carpet was situated below the Queen-sized bed, creating a wide border around the golden bed frame. 

The bed itself looked immensely comfortable with its fluffy, white comforters and cushions, intricate golden detailing present on both. A vase on the bedside table held flowers that he could definitely recognize if he were to spend more than a second looking at them, though his attention was currently occupied by the cognition on the bed.

A gorgeous, young woman lounged on it peacefully, her long eyelashes gently brushing her cheeks. She was clad in a long nightgown with delicate lace around the hem and ends of her sleeves, and although it seemed like quite a simple silk robe, that amount of lace definitely didn’t come cheap at the time, nor did the shade of lavender. 

Ren almost jumped out of his skin when something rushed past them. When he calmed down, he realized that it was a young boy, no older than six years old. A cognition, considering how he didn't feel anything touching him when the kid pushed past. 

"Mama! Mama!" The boy called, clumsily climbing onto the bed and sitting beside her. The lady opened her eyes, smiling up at him as he went on excitedly. "I’m back, I made some friends today at school!" 

“Welcome back, Goro. Tell me more about your friends.” She brought a hand up to run it through his hair, keeping her fond gaze on him. He giggled at the affectionate touch, leaning into it just the tiniest bit.

“They’re really nice, we talked a lot about Featherman! There was this boy named Ken, and a boy named Daichi, and a girl named Maki, and they were all really fun to talk to,” Akechi babbled with a huge grin on his face. 

Akechi’s mother chuckled as she listened intently. “Really? I’m glad you made some nice friends. What else did you talk about with them?”

“Hmm, we talked about a lot…” Akechi took a moment to remember, then his expression lit up. “Oh, I remember! One thing we talked about was our parents’ name meanings, and Maki-chan’s mom has a really pretty name, but I don’t remember the meaning. But I don’t know yours and I’m curious!”

“My name?” She repeated, raising her eyebrows a bit. Ren could see her eyes crinkle a bit as she smiled. “You already know that my name is Tatsuko. It has the kanji for dragon, so it means ‘dragon child’. My parents thought I’d be a tough kid because I didn’t cry much when I was born, so they gave me that name.”

Akechi looked at her with big eyes full of awe. “That’s so cool! It’s the perfect name for mama, she’s so strong!”

Tatsuko’s face softened significantly when he said that, pulling him into a loving hug that he gladly melted into. “Oh, sweetheart… Hearing you say that means the world to me.”

“It’s the truth!” He insisted, reaching up to poke her cheeks gently. Tatsuko didn’t complain when he continued to squish and press his little fingers into them, but it was evidently hard for her to stop herself from laughing. “What about me? Why did you name me Goro?”

“Goro means ‘my son’. I named you that because you’re the light of my life, and my precious baby,” she explained, then leaned down to kiss his forehead gently. “I’m really happy to have you by my side.”

Akechi’s tiny body shook with joyful giggles. He brought a hand away from her cheeks to put his arm around her waist, bringing himself closer to her. “I love you, mama. I’ll be with you forever and ever! You’ll stay with me too, right?”

“Of course, sweetheart. Anything for you.”

Nobody spoke after the memory faded, replaced only by a piece of paper swaying left and right, as light as a feather, before landing on top of the bed’s comforter. 

“ _... She died only a few months after that moment._ ”

Ren could hear somebody sniffling behind him. Most likely Futaba, considering how her voice sounded watery when she whispered, “Akechi… I’m so sorry.”

He felt his heart clench in his chest, as if somebody grabbed it and squeezed with all their might. Ren could clearly remember the thinly veiled pain on Akechi’s expression when he told him about his mother’s death the first time around. He knew he should’ve expected to see more of her in his Palace, that she wouldn’t be limited to the stained glass in the Chapel, but seeing such an innocent moment from his childhood like this felt… heart-wrenching, for lack of better word. 

“ _Don’t be,_ ” Akechi’s shadow told her. “ _I noticed it relatively early on, I just couldn’t really understand what it meant at such a young age until she committed suicide. She cried a lot… Especially after nights where she had men come over, which became more and more frequent as our financial situation worsened. Not to mention the constant shit she got for being a single mother with a child born out of wed-lock, it all took a toll on her. I tried my best to be there for her, but there was only so much that a six year old could do._ ”

"I can't even imagine how you must've felt, I mean, you were so young…" Ann said, her voice quivering. 

Yusuke's gaze was fixed firmly to the floor, though neither the narrowing of his eyes nor the hair hanging over them could hide the pain in them. "I can certainly relate to an extent, though I never lived in orphanages. I lost my mother as a child as well, and never knew my father… I cannot imagine how much pain you had to go through." 

The shadow didn't respond, though it was clear that he was still listening. A melancholy silence filled the room, broken only by Haru after a few moments. 

"Hey, those flowers…" She walked over to the other side of the room, observing the vase from up close as if to confirm something. "These are white lilies and pink carnations, meaning purity and undying motherly love respectively... Quite fitting for them to be in this room." 

“He must really love her, huh?” Ryuji spoke quietly, staring off at the vase. Purity and motherly love… Ren couldn’t pick a better pair of flowers to act as symbolism for the memory even if he tried. 

He swallowed down the lump that was stuck in his throat.

“ _... Well, you’ll be pleased to hear that you’ll now be able to proceed to the tower,_ ” Akechi’s shadow cut in, as if to change the topic. “ _You found all four pages, and that’s the last one._ ”

Futaba wiped her tears away before walking towards the bed and grabbing the page. She handed it over to Ren, who took it gladly, beginning to flip through the pages of the book to find the remaining gap. It was towards the beginning, right after the first page in the book. Bringing it close to the torn paper was all it took for the loose leaf to mend itself; the final piece in the puzzle. 

“I think we can read the full thing now,” Futaba mentioned before moving beside Ren to be able to see the text.

The others crowded around as Ren flipped back to the start of the book, starting to read the full fairytale. 

_Once upon a time,_

_There lived a young Prince named Akechi Goro, born to the beautiful Akechi Tatsuko. Ever since he was a child, the Prince lived a very hard life. The King abandoned the two of them after the Prince was born, all for the sake of his Kingdom._

_They could not enter the castle and were quite poor after the King left his mistress, so she did her best to provide for the Prince and herself by working in the Kingdom’s towns. The Prince loved his mother dearly, even if he didn’t quite understand where his father went._

_He thought it was lonely when he had to spend nights all alone at the nearby bathhouse, but he forgot about it immediately whenever his mother held him and sang him to sleep._

_Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Akechi Tatsuko was found dead. The Prince was devastated beyond words. He lived with other families for multiple years after that, but none were as kind to him as his mother._

_Grateful as he was for the roof over his head and the clothes on his back, things never felt the same for the Prince after that fateful day._

_Sometimes, he stayed in large orphanages within the Kingdom. The caretakers were extremely busy however, so the Prince rarely got attention from them._

_The older kids at the orphanages were very mean to the younger ones, often calling them names or pushing them around. He never truly felt safe, and constantly missed his mother._

_The Prince remained patient until one day, he found out that he had a unique skill. He had awakened to his true self and found his justice, and so he made a plan to find his father and convince him to stay with him in exchange for his skills, then take revenge on him for leaving him and his mother._

_He ran away from the orphanage wearing the nicest clothes he owned and stuffed the few belongings he had into his pockets. Fortunately, the King heard him out and allowed him to live in his castle. Despite not knowing that the Prince was his son, he gave him the title to cover up an old rumor within the Kingdom about a missing Prince._

_Life was kinder to the Prince after that. He executed competition for the King in exchange for his survival, though he never told him his true intentions. His plans to betray the King and take his throne would remain a secret. The attention from the public was never genuine, but for the first time in his life, he could pretend he was loved by somebody._

_Despite how fulfilling it felt, he never liked being put up on a pedestal and given attention only when the public found it convenient. Therefore, as his new skills came with the ability to shapeshift into a dragon, he decided to make up a story. He convinced the townspeople that the King’s big, scary dragon was keeping him locked up in the castle’s Keep, so that he would not go missing again. Because of this, he only left his room to attend banquets or do his work._

_The Prince went through multiple years all alone with no one to lean on but the King, when one day he met the kind eldest son of a Marquess. Amamiya Ren, Earl of Inaba, came into the Prince’s life at just the right moment._

_When the Earl bumped into him at a banquet and spilled his drink all over the Prince, he brought with him a whole new world that the Prince never got the chance to see. They were inseparable ever since they became friends, and often took long walks in the garden or played billiards together, though it wasn’t long before tragedy struck again._

_One day, the King ordered him to execute the leader of the petty thieves causing trouble in the Kingdom. The King thought they were threatening enough to need intervention, though the Prince was crestfallen. He knew that the identity of the thieves’ leader was the Earl that he befriended._

_The King left the Kingdom shortly after that for business, and with no other executions to carry out in his absence, the Prince didn’t hesitate to lock himself up in the Keep for good in his grief. He was incredibly saddened that he had to leave the one person who made him feel at ease._

_However, he knew he would have to do it. This sacrifice was necessary for him to be able to finally take the throne away from the rotten King, no matter how much he wanted to rebel against it._

… There’s no ending?

He flipped to the very end, only to find multiple pages torn out of the spine, ones that they never found. Were they _meant_ to be found? Or was it like that for the sake of symbolism, as a way to show that Akechi doesn’t know how future events will turn out? It definitely lines up with real world events and what they know now… 

His mind was racing. So that dragon that the townspeople kept talking about was actually something Akechi could shapeshift into? Everyone up until now had been phrasing it as if the dragon was a separate being, but now that he had confirmation that they were indeed one and the same, he had no clue what it meant. Everything in this Palace should technically line up with something in the real world, so what does the dragon represent?

Unless it represents the Black Mask?

They already knew everything about Akechi using the Metaverse to perform mental shutdowns at Shido’s command, so he wouldn’t be surprised if Akechi and the Black Mask that other Palace rulers spoke of were the same person.

Just like Akechi and the dragon.

And then... there was the obvious statement that he didn’t want to kill Ren. Everything that he had suspicions about were suddenly being confirmed. It was honestly a lot to take in at once, and he could tell that the others were struggling to comprehend as well, judging by their exclamations of surprise. However, he was now certain that he’d made the right decision to go through with this Palace.

“ _You should go. Do not bother with entering the tower now, you’ll be flanked by guards with no escape,_ ” Akechi’s shadow advised. “ _That specific memory of his mother being dug up from the deep depths of his mind was certainly the final straw for his emotional stability._ ”

As if on cue, Ren heard the familiar clanging of metal somewhere in the distance. 

Fuck.

“We need to go,” Ren told them firmly, leaving no room for hesitation. After carelessly shoving the book into his pocket, he sped towards the door and cracked it open just enough to look out into the hallway. 

There weren’t any guards right outside, but he could hear them coming ever closer. There’s a lot of them lining up in the courtyard, too. They’d need to be quick about their escape… 

With only a tiny gesture for the others to follow, he threw the door open and ran towards their infiltration point. 

“Hey, over there!”

Shit, they’ve been spotted. What did he expect though? They’re a large group.

“File out! I’ll hold them back,” Ren ordered, summoning a persona to charge up for a physical attack. 

“That– That’s a lot of guards, you can’t hold them all off on your own!” Ryuji stammered out, then called for Captain Kidd. Seems like he was adamant about helping him. A quick glance at the others proved that they were reluctant to leave all the fighting to them, but Makoto ushered them towards their escape. There’s really no time for hesitation.

Guards morphed into a variety of enemies, though he couldn’t help but notice something as he attacked them left and right. All of them were of the Justice arcana. Not a super shocking revelation, but it was admittedly a little surprising considering how all of the Palaces up till never really had a specific trend for the shadows’ arcanas. 

He spared another glance towards the escape window and saw that most of them made it out, though Makoto was waiting for Ann to climb out before she could have her turn. She caught his eye and waved them over frantically.

“Skull, go after Queen,” Ren ordered.

“Got it!”

They inched backwards with every attack, putting distance between themselves and the shadows only for them to press forward insistently, but evidently it didn’t prevent the thieves from escaping.

Ryuji climbed out quickly and held out a hand for Ren to take. He shot another Dominion in the face and sent it crashing into the ground, causing another shadow to trip over him. Perfect.

Grabbing Ryuji’s hand, he let himself be pulled out of the fortress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, mamakechi ;;;;; believe me this chapter hurt to write so I'm VERY sorry if this made you cry ahjdfskdfjg


	10. Chapter 10

"I'm sorry I asked you to indulge me, but I do feel a bit better now." 

Ren had no idea how this went from trying to discreetly send the calling card, to having a full on duel with Akechi in Mementos. 

Honestly, he was glad that Akechi asked him to hang out; it offered him the perfect opportunity he was looking for. Though, he certainly can’t say he was expecting to have a gun pulled on him and be challenged to fight. 

Well, what sort of rival would he be if he refused? Besides, it ended in his victory, no matter close it might’ve been. 

“By the way, about that duel – if we’d fought to the end, do you see yourself winning?” Akechi asked.

Ren was reminded of the ferocity with which Akechi moved, the glare in his eyes as he threw out attack after attack, never waiting for Ren to keep up. He’d observed him many times during battles in Niijima’s Palace, and he’d noticed how he seemed to be restraining some part of himself with every move, though he never failed to cause major damage to every enemy he fought. Every time, Ren wondered what it’d be like to see him completely and utterly _unrestrained._ It seems like he got his wish during the duel.

Or did he?

… He still had a sneaking suspicion that there was something else beneath the surface.

“I definitely wouldn’t lose,” Ren responded confidently.

A tiny smile pulled at Akechi’s lips. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”

Then, his expression returned to a carefully neutral one as he stared Ren dead in the eye.

“I’m going to be entirely honest with you: I hate you.”

Ren’s eyebrows flew up into his hairline. That was definitely not what he expected to hear next. He shifted his weight to his other foot, maintaining eye contact as if to prompt Akechi to elaborate. Irritation passed over the man’s expression, evident in the furrow of his brow and the narrowing of his eyes, bitterness seeping out of his every word.

“Your deft handling of your unfortunate circumstances, your uniqueness, your ability to surpass me – all these irritate me.” Akechi's gaze fell to the floor, then he wrenched his eyes shut. "... You're the one person I refuse to lose to." 

His mind lingered on the declaration of hate. It was hard for him to take the statement seriously, especially after it seemed to be followed by things that almost seemed like compliments. He had to wonder if Akechi's irritation actually stemmed from envy. It wouldn’t be surprising; considering everything that’s happened in his past, it would be only natural for him to have an aversion to anyone who could still hold their own during difficult times.

'I hate you', huh? 

Ren felt a hint of a smirk tugging at one of the corners of his lips. 

_… No you don't._

"You must really hate losing, huh?" Ren asked. 

"Without a doubt.” He honestly looked surprised as well, as if he wasn’t expecting such a reaction from himself either. "Even I was unaware that it was this severe. I'll let you have this win today – but next time, I will be victorious.”

He must be really determined, huh? 

"Let this be my proof,” Akechi continued. Then, he began tugging at his right glove, only to toss it straight at Ren's chest. He fumbled with it for a moment, but his instincts kicked in on time so he could catch it before it fell. Ren brought his gaze up from the glove, back to Akechi’s own. 

"There's a tradition in the West to throw one's glove at their opponent when demanding a duel," Akechi explained. "Should the opponent accept the glove, the duel is also accepted."

A rematch… The smooth leather felt cold against his fingers, though the inner lining that his thumb brushed over was warm. 

Of course he'd be dramatic enough to propose another duel using some foreign tradition. Ren finally let that smirk take over his lips. 

"I accept." 

Akechi seemed pleased with his response. "Make certain that you never forget: _I_ am the one who will defeat you." 

They both nodded at each other as if to seal their promise. Akechi noted the time, suggesting that they head home for the day. 

Oh, right. 

How could he forget? 

"One moment," Ren interrupted. Akechi hummed inquisitively, waiting as Ren reached into his pocket. He grabbed Akechi’s hand and pried it open, pressing the card against his palm. 

It took the other a moment to register what he was looking at, but then his wide-eyed gaze sharply turned back to Ren.

"Wha–?" 

… He's not gonna wait to see Akechi’s reaction. He knew that he'd ask a million questions if he stayed. 

Ren turned on his heel and ran down the steps of the train station, ignoring the way he called his name. He took sharp turns around corners and dodged people, mumbling apologies as he hurried to the platform. 

He spotted Akechi’s desperate eyes in the crowd just as the train doors closed behind himself. 

Time to steal his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rank 8 rewrite!!! A glove for a calling card :'))) get ready for shit to get real in the next chapter


	11. Chapter 11

When they went back into the Palace the following day, there weren’t any guards.

Quite surprising – he expected even more guards than when they got attacked on their way out due to the maximum security, but there were none to be seen now. 

Even still, Ren cautioned the others not to make much noise as they walked back into the Keep. It’d be a bad idea to let their guard down now that they’re nearing the end.

The door right ahead was still closed, but according to Akechi’s shadow, it must be unlocked. “The treasure’s past here, huh?” Ren murmured.

“Mmhm,” Futaba confirmed. “I feel it right above us, I think there’s a set of stairs we gotta climb.”

“Let’s get this show on the road then!” Ryuji said with a wide grin, stretching his arms out as he spoke. That’s the spirit.

After sharing glances with the rest of the thieves to check on their conditions, he turned back to the door and tried the handle.

It opened smoothly, allowing him to push it open and look into the large room ahead. It was dimly lit and unusually cold, though that wasn’t the most surprising thing. The walls in this room were made of stone, and the set of stairs on the left side of the room were narrow and spiralling upwards. This definitely looked more like what you’d expect a medieval castle to look like; sort of reminiscent of the unsightly fortress exterior they saw, except it was a bit less roughed up. 

Their heels clicked and echoed as they all stepped into the room, occupied by nothing other than the stairs and their own presences. He felt a cold sensation pass over his body and seep into his veins that was unrelated to the temperature of the room. This is really it, isn’t it? Admittedly, he was a bit anxious to know what lies ahead…

But there’s no way he’s backing down now. 

Without a word to the others, he walked right up to the stairs and began climbing them, one by one. The stairs were narrowest at the right-hand side, likely to prevent attackers from using their weapons as they climbed up the stairs. Well, it’s not like he needed his just yet. 

He steadied himself with a hand on the right side of the wall, just barely feeling the coldness of it through his gloves. Footsteps followed close behind Ren, so he knew that they were keeping up. 

When he finally made it up to the top, he climbed the last few steps and took in the sight of the spacious roof. The battlements surrounding the flat landing were relatively tall, usually meant to provide an apt hiding spot when aiming arrows from the high area, though these ones were extremely decorative with sculptures of angels and smaller replications of pillars making up the battlement. Due to the height of the tower, they got a gorgeous view of the distant town, and even farther than that were grassy plains that stretched on for miles and miles, barely a shadow against the horizon. And on the other side of the tower’s roof, facing away from them…

“So you came.”

As the familiar form turned around, grey eyes met luminous yellow. 

Much like what the cognitive Akechi wore back at the billiards room, the shadow was clad in whites and reds, with the golden lining and fastenings at his waistcoat catching the light of the setting sun every so often. However, the coat he wore there was gone, and instead he wore a red cloak over his shoulders, lined with gold at the edges and pinned at the front of his collar. At his right side, a sheathed sword was visible. Evidently, he came up here expecting a fight.

Or maybe, he was never going to give them an option.

“We did,” Ren responded. “Were you not expecting us to?”

“Pretty difficult not to expect it after you have already sent a calling card. Though, I’ll admit I was still uncertain,” he said.

Then, before Ren could say anything else, he was looking down the business end of a sword. Akechi’s shadow drew it so quickly that Ren missed it in the blink of an eye. Instinctively, he took a step back, putting distance between the sharp tip and himself.

“However, I decided to come up here and wait for you. If you were already going to be so adamant about stealing my treasure–” Akechi followed with a step of his own, the tip of the sword only centimetres away from Ren’s chest. “–then why would I make it easy for you?”

Ren tried his best to respond eloquently while also keeping an eye on the godforsaken sharp thing. “... You made it awfully easy to collect those storybook pages, though. We didn’t even have to do anything to trigger them.”

“Oh, but as soon as you picked up that book, that was enough to trigger their appearance. And besides, I didn’t particularly _feel_ like making it challenging, not when I am the part of him that craved to be understood and loved so _bad_ that his heart became distorted.”

His breath hitched. Throughout this entire Palace, he found himself wondering what exactly caused it to form. So, it stemmed from a desire to be cared about. 

That… explained a lot, actually. 

The shadow finally lowered his weapon, letting his arm hang at his side. “I had to go through so many sleepless nights wondering what I did wrong before I got my powers, why nothing went right, why it seemed like _everyone_ was so much more fortunate than me. How could I not reach out for a lifeline when somebody, be it god or demon, extended one to me?”

His every word grew more and more bitter as he spoke, forcing out the words as if they were poison in his mouth. It was such a striking difference to the quiet and tired shadow that they spoke with up until now that Ren couldn’t string his thoughts together well enough to offer a coherent response, though the other simply continued as if it didn’t matter if he got one or not.

“I finally felt like I had control. I felt so powerful, I was actually sure that I could do something about my circumstances! But of course, I should’ve expected to be manipulated _yet another fucking time_ by being forced to kill,” he spat.

“... You didn’t expect to hurt anyone, right? So then what were you expecting to have to do when you offered your abilities to Shido?” Ann asked, seemingly unfazed by the threatening aura about him. Pretty fucking impressive, considering how the narrowing of those glowing eyes caused a chill to go down Ren’s spine. 

“Anything. I was prepared for anything I had to do to get my revenge in the end, whether it was collecting information on his opposition that could be used as blackmail, or sneaking into someone’s home to steal documents, as long as it was something that sounded reasonable. But I _never_ agreed to harming anyone physically, and yet there I was, stuck with no choice!” 

Ren realized something. He was only using pronouns to refer to himself now as opposed to the ‘he’ that he used to refer to the real Akechi. Did that have anything to do with his infuriated state?

“You know what’s the worst thing? Just when I was beginning to feel like I had some modicum of control, even though I was still Shido’s marionette, meeting you made me think that I could finally build a proper bond with somebody that I consider my equal. Then what do you know, turns out that even _you_ deal with your circumstances better than I do, despite having your life ruined by the same man that ruined mine,” he spoke, practically seething.

… Hold on, what did he just say? Is he trying to say that…?

“Do you mean that Shido is the one who got me arrested?” He asked, voice somewhat shaky from the reminder of the memory. When he did research on Shido, his face looked oddly familiar, but he never thought that–

His mind took him back to the throne room. Of fucking course, that voice… How didn’t he realize sooner?

A dull, throbbing sensation that went through his entire head had him clutching it for a brief moment. Futaba’s concerned voice registered, but he wasn’t able to listen to her; his mind was buzzing with the realization.

He really didn’t want to admit it, but there were far too many things that fell into place. 

While he tried to straighten back up, the shadow continued. Ren could barely hear him over the sound of his own panicked heartbeat in his ears. “You didn’t realize? Though, to be fair, you didn’t know of his identity before you came here.”

“What the hell?! This Shido guy is so messed up,” Ryuji yelled furiously. “How many more lives is he gonna ruin while continuin’ to get away with it?”

“Now you know what I felt like when I finally figured out his identity a few years ago,” Akechi’s shadow said, his face scrunching up with rage. “I was beyond pissed for what he did to my mother, but when I found out that he’s caused so much harm to the lives of people that did absolutely nothing, I was even angrier. When I realized that I, as his illegitimate son, could personally ruin _his_ life in return and kick him off of his high horse, I almost burst into laughter!”

In all honesty, Ren can absolutely see why Akechi would go to such lengths. The terrifying thing is that if he didn’t have Morgana and the others by his side in Kamoshida’s Palace… He wasn’t so sure that he wouldn’t have done the same. In the beginning, he was so sure that Kamoshida’s crimes could only be redeemed through death, to the point where he didn’t think that simply putting him in jail was good enough. Without them, he was sure that he’d…

“In any case, I didn’t come here to talk about Shido.” The shadow dropped into a preparatory stance before starting to sprint towards Ren. “I came to fight!”

Oh fuck, he has a long blade. There’s no way his knife would be able to block that without him getting hit.

He quickly stepped to the side to evade the attack, retaliating by lunging forward to nick the shadow in the side with his knife. 

The other winced and took a step back before slashing at Ren. He fumbled with his movements for a bit as he tried to deflect the attacks, the clanging of their swords filling the air with every beat. 

Ren saw Futaba retreating into Necronomicon out of the corner of his eye. Definitely a good idea, he wouldn’t want her getting hurt amidst the chaos that’s likely about to ensue. “Guys, stay back!”

A glance spared behind him showed that the others looked incredibly tense, likely wanting to join the fight to help Ren. He merely shook his head to get them to calm down before going back in with another thrust of his knife. If they all tried to join in, this would get messy really quickly.

The close proximity of his weapon was quite risky, but he had no other option. At the very least, it allowed him to block most of Akechi’s attacks and reciprocate with one of his own. 

“How the fuck are you capable of keeping up in a sword fight when you’re clearly inexperienced?” Akechi’s shadow hissed, evading another one of Ren’s cuts. 

“Instinct,” he responded simply, preoccupied with keeping track of the other’s left hand. He’d switch his knife to his own left hand, but he knew that his movements would be quite messy if he did, despite being semi-ambidextrous. There’s no way he wouldn’t slip up.

“Of fucking course it’s instinct, what else would it be?” He managed to get close enough to scratch Ren’s arm, making him wince and flinch back. “That’s what I despised about you – you’re always so good at _everything_ , especially when it comes to making people like you!”

The shadow made another dangerous attack, but Ren narrowly managed to parry it. 

“Meanwhile,” Akechi’s shadow continued, “I had to work my ass off to get consistently high grades, to make a name for myself as the Detective Prince’s successor, to be known by people–” He paused for a moment as their swords clashed again and again. “–So that _anyone_ could care about me, even if it was superficial!”

Ren felt his heart ache for a moment. He faltered in his attack for a moment before he recollected himself well enough to lunge into another one. “But I do care about you, Akechi.”

The shadow’s eyes widened for a split second as he paused his assault, then glared daggers at him. “Do you, now? Would’ve been nice to hear something like that two years ago,” he retorted, then sliced the air in front of Ren with his sword when he missed. “I already made it quite clear; I despise you more than even myself!”

“I don’t think you do,” Ren disagreed, trying to keep his tone even while also returning the shadow’s attacks. “I think you’re envious above all else, you stated it yourself.”

He sneered at Ren’s response, thrusting his sword at his chest. “Make no mistake, I _was_ envious! Oh, how envious I was. However, my hatred runs deeper than mere _envy_!”

Ren almost didn’t hear Morgana when he spoke, but just out of earshot, he heard him gasp. “The cloak! That’s the treasure!”

The cloak, huh… Ren’s hands were occupied with his attacks, but his mind raced freely. If he somehow managed to get close enough to the shadow to tear the cloak off of his shoulders...

Shadow Akechi dodged another one of Ren’s cuts, returning one of his own, which Ren managed to parry. He could feign an attack leaning towards one side and step to the other one when the shadow’s body is twisted, then grab it.

He feigned an attack towards the left, causing the other to chase after it just as planned. Then, before Akechi’s shadow could react, he reached for the cape and–

Pain flared through his stomach when he got kneed to the ground, knife clattering as it fell a good distance away from him. Fuck. He tried to clamber back onto his feet but the ache caused him to make a strangled noise, collapsing back to the ground. The rest of the thieves yelled behind him, but he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying; he could only see the shadow looming in front of him, his sword raised in a high guard above his head.

His heart was beating in his ears as he wrenched his eyes shut, raising his arm in front of him to make a last attempt at preventing his head from being hurt.

…

Noise erupted again.

What was going on?

Why was there no impact?

Hesitantly, he opened his eyes and looked up, only to find an unfamiliar figure clad in black and dark blue in front of him. The noise he heard was the clang of the shadow’s sword colliding with a serrated red one, arms raised in a static block as his tattered cape billowed behind him.

_What the…?_

“You are all so fucking slow!” The person shouted at the other thieves. A far too familiar voice.

Multiple people exclaimed their surprise, but he couldn’t tell their voices apart. “Akechi?!”

“Stop gawking and fight already,” he retorted, grabbing part of the shadow’s blade and pulling it down to fully stop the attack. “Why were you not standing alongside Joker?”

Ren knew exactly what the thieves were thinking. His outfit and demeanour were way different from what they saw back in Niijima’s Palace, including a black mask. Just as he suspected…

Once she got over her shock, Makoto responded. “Uhm… He got into a one-on-one fight with the shadow and told us to get back.”

“Well, it’s over, is it not? Make yourselves useful.” His irritated tone prompted them to take immediate action without asking any questions, closing the distance and getting their weapons ready. Ren managed to stand up as well, still feeling the throbbing pain in his torso, but it was less unbearable now.

The shadow was silent until now, but then a darkness passed over his expression. “Why are you here?”

“Do you really think I’d have a different reason than you?” Akechi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Fair enough. Does that mean you’re on my side, since we both want to protect our treasure, or are you on theirs?”

He snorted in response. “We both know that I don’t do _sides_ . What I’m here to do is to prevent other people from deciding what to do with _my_ treasure without my permission. I’ll fight against you and ally with them momentarily, though I do not share the same goal with them in the slightest.”

The shadow said nothing. He merely nodded, a fire igniting in his luminous eyes. A loud rumbling could be heard in the distance, as if a storm was brewing somewhere.

“If you’re not holding back your true appearance, then I won’t either,” he said, then unfastened the cloak around his collar. “Nobody is taking my protection against the world!”

With a swift swing of the arm, the fabric of the cloak swished in front of him and completely hid his body behind it. The cloak disappeared in the blink of an eye, and with it went the shadow.

Before he could begin to question what was going on, a dark shape flew up from behind the wall of the fortress and into the sky, flapping its gigantic wings forward and carrying a gust of wind towards them that knocked them off of their feet.

“Shit!”

They all cursed under their breath as they rolled across the ground. Ren needed a moment to regain his composure, having gone lightheaded from being forced back onto the floor.

When he finally looked back up, he saw a huge black dragon with many, many stripes across its scaled body. It bellowed loudly before bringing a clawed hand down against the building, causing it to shake and tremble. 

Just as he was wondering what the fuck was this thing’s problem, he recalled the storybook.

_… He convinced the townspeople that the King’s big, scary dragon was keeping him locked up in the castle’s keep, so that he would not go missing again..._

Right. This was still Akechi’s shadow, but now he was certain that his assumption from earlier had been correct. The dragon and the black mask are one and the same, and now they’re facing off against each other in different forms. Huh.

Well, what other choice did he have but to fight as well?

He picked himself up off of the ground, feeling his entire body ache but still staying stubborn. The others followed suit as well, unwilling to remain crumpled and weak.

The dragon flew back into the air, keeping a small distance away from the edge of the fortress. Ranged attacks… They had a similar situation like this with the Cognitive Wakaba in Futaba’s Palace, so he had a pretty good grasp on what to do next.

“Everyone, do long-distance attacks!” He ordered, switching to a persona with elementals and starting to concentrate.

The rest of them complied, beginning to use their own elemental attacks or even using their guns to get some shots in. Ren glanced over at Akechi who summoned a persona that he hadn’t seen before, the zebra camouflage making it difficult to discern a proper form. He sent a Debilitate the shadow’s way, causing all of its stats to decrease. Perfect.

“Whatever you do, don’t use curse,” Akechi warned. “Try bless attacks instead.”

Sounds like a plan.

Ren switched to Horus and observed the shadow. It was moving around quite a bit, flying to and fro before–

Wait.

“It’s going to attack!” He warned, guarding as soon as he realized.

Mere seconds after he said that, the dragon’s clawed hand swept across them, knocking some of them to the side. He managed to hold his ground as he wasn’t in direct contact with the attack, but he could still feel that one of the shadow’s claws left a scratch on his arm. 

The dizzying attack left some of the others reeling as they tried to recover from it. Seems like Akechi didn’t hesitate to retaliate, having gotten back onto his feet and immediately sent a Megidolaon at the dragon.

Holy shit, just how powerful _was_ his skill set?

Ren wouldn’t let him get the bigger attack in. He smirked as he got ready to use Kougaon, having concentrated beforehand–

The light enveloped the dark dragon and sent it crashing down onto the side of the building with a loud _crash_ and an accompanying scream of pain. They all managed to remain on their feet despite the fortress shuddering from the impact yet again. 

“I suppose it’s time for an all out attack,” Yusuke suggested with a glance over at Ren.

He simply nodded back. “Go at ‘em!” 

With his confirmation, everyone including Ren began a wild assault on the shadow, sending attack after attack so aggressively that they left a dust cloud behind once it was over. 

He fell back, watching as the dust settled down again and revealed the crumpled mess of a dragon, unconscious on the ground.

A glow began emanating from it as the dragon slowly faded, leaving behind only the weak form of the defeated Prince lying face-down, the cloak forgotten on the ground beside him.

The silence after the fight was filled only with the heavy breaths of his teammates as they tried to recollect themselves, but no one spoke. Only after a moment did Akechi begin walking towards the shadow, crouching down to stare at his exhausted other self.

“... You’re kind of weak, you know that?” He murmured so quietly that Ren had to strain his ears to hear their conversation.

The shadow looked up at him, giving a wry smile. “You’re saying that to yourself.”

“I said what I said.” Akechi picked up the cloak in front of him, holding it in his hands and gazing down at it. “You’re weak, we’re weak, whatever. I can’t believe I let myself get so bad to the point where I relied on a security blanket…”

The other said nothing. He merely continued looking up at Akechi, his expression blank, yet it contained a tinge of sorrow. 

“You won’t continue running from your desire to be loved, will you?” He asked.

Akechi glanced over at him briefly, shaking his head. “I wasn’t necessarily ignoring you. I suppose I just didn’t realize the full extent of it… I’m more than aware now.”

A satisfied smile took over the shadow’s expression. “Good.”

Then, Akechi stood up and let the cloak fall out of his grasp and onto the floor before turning to face the thieves. 

“I won’t let you take the treasure.”

Wait, what?

The others exclaimed their confusion as well, filling the air with protests and questions that only served to annoy Akechi.

Haru tilted her head quizzically. “But… if we don’t, then won’t your Palace not–”

“I’m done with having other people take control over my own life,” he interrupted. The deep furrow of his brow made him look incredibly irate. “ _I_ will be the one to decide what happens to my treasure and my Palace. Why do you think I came in here? The idea of having someone else decide what to do with my desires made me want to _puke._ ”

The statement was cold and blunt, but Ren definitely understood where he was coming from. He had to be controlled and manipulated for his entire life; Ren had to wonder just how many things he’s currently able to decide for himself. Taking his desires away from him without him having a say in the matter would be beyond cruel.

Futaba was quiet, but she seemed to be coming to the same conclusion, judging by the pained look in her eyes. “... I don’t think we should interfere, this really should be something that he decides on.”

“I must agree,” Makoto chimed in. “Besides, I feel as though there could be another way for the Palace to be destroyed rather than just taking his treasure. Didn’t Oracle’s Palace crumble after she talked to her cognitive mother?”

“Well, it was more of _her_ being the treasure and leaving the Palace on her own, but…” Ryuji trailed off, deep in thought. “I think we should leave it up to Akechi too.”

The rest looked quite conflicted, unsure of how to go about such a situation, but Ren simply nodded at Akechi. “The decision’s yours.”

For a split second, he looked a little surprised by their willingness to leave it up to him. The expression quickly faded though, replaced by a satisfied smirk. “Thank you.”

He glanced back at the shadow, as if contemplating something. “... Get up.”

“Huh?” The shadow looked mildly bewildered.

“I said, get up,” Akechi repeated. The other blinked up at him for a moment before complying, getting back up onto his feet shakily, only for Akechi to bring him into a sort of one armed half-hug.

“Wh–!”

“You’ve wanted something like this for a while, right?” He asked the wide-eyed shadow. There was no response for a moment as the other was too surprised to come up with anything, but then he nodded wordlessly. 

Ren had to wonder how deprived of love that side of him was for him to be so shocked at the affection. His heart ached in his chest again.

“Thank you…” The shadow whispered, his body beginning to glow. Akechi stepped away from him, handing him the cloak from the floor immediately.

“Take this with you. Rely on it _only_ when you really need it, and learn to confide in other people for once.”

The shadow left Akechi with only a small, genuine smile before he faded, taking the treasure with him.

Akechi stared at the spot where the shadow once stood, blinking down at it slowly. He then shook his head, as if to shake himself out of his thoughts, and walked back to the thieves.

“The Palace is going to crumble soon. We should get going.”

As if on cue, the ground under them began to tremble, as if an earthquake was slowly building up its strength. 

“Run!” Ren yelled, moving quickly towards the staircase and taking two steps at a time. Everyone else followed close behind, panicked noises filling up the air as the fortress began to crumble.

He threw the door open and held it for the others, making sure they all got out of the Keep before tailing them. Thankfully, the courtyard was as void of enemies as it had been when they arrived, allowing for a quick escape through their infiltration point. 

As soon as they made it to the bottom of the hill, their surroundings warped.

They were back in the real world.

Ren fell into a crouch, burying his face into his knees as he tried to regain his breath. Holy shit… He can’t believe it’s over.

He could hear everyone else trying to compose themselves too, though he couldn’t really hear much background noise aside from them. Bringing his gaze up, he noticed that they ended up escaping into a narrow alleyway. Where exactly were they?

Ren straightened up again, looking at the buildings outside of the alley. Huh… These looked familiar. Did they come out somewhere close to Akechi’s apartment?

Speaking of Akechi, Ren wondered how he was doing. 

He saw him leaning against the wall next to Ryuji, eyes screwed shut as he tried to recollect himself. However, his breathing seemed to be a little shallow… 

Instinctively, he moved closer to check up on his condition–

Akechi moved away from the wall to stand up straight, only for his knees to give out underneath him as he swayed.

Ren caught the fainting man in his arms just before he fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND HERE'S THE FIGHT SCENE!!! I'm so sorry for leaving you guys on that cliffhanger but I'll definitely upload the next two chapters by mid-February, so please stay tuned SJHGKSJFG
> 
> Also, please give [SparklyRainbows](https://twitter.com/sparkles5401/status/1355267821131862016) so so much love for the work she put into both of her pieces!!! <33333
> 
> EDIT 06/03/21: I WAS AN ABSOLUTE FOOL WHEN I SAID THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS WOULD BE UP BY MID-FEBRUARY AHSJDHDJ exams start up on the 15th so I'm not making any. estimations lmao but I'm not dead or leaving this fic unabandoned so please, stay tuned for an update,, soon,,, <333


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